Body-mind connect

I have been focusing a lot more on the connection between body, breath, and awareness towards both. It has been an enlightening journey as I found simple and joyous acts of my childhood were aimed at strengthening the body-mind connection. Somehow along the way of growing up and enjoying the status of adulthood, the disconnect had happened. I am now in the process of strengthening this bond between the body and mind. This is not a single day’s job. It is very similar to breathwork and work needs to be done regularly to keep the connection strong.

The process that I use for this connection is through an oil bath. Yes, it is so!

Do you have an oil bath? The process of applying oil on hair and every part of the body and gently massage for some time. Then a hot water bath to wash off the oil. It is super relaxing and assures a good afternoon nap on oil bath days. We used to allocate Sundays for this process. Once in a week, we aimed at making the body-mind connect using oil as the lubricant, as we gently touched every part of our body, applied oil, took some time to see our own hands and legs, and enjoyed this whole process. As the hand gently ran around the skin, behind the ears, the neck, the spine, the chest, and the abdomen, it was a cue to the vagus nerve, letting the body flow into the rest and digest mode.

We create a bond with our bodies. The love for our body builds here. Here we gain confidence in our inner self by strengthening the bond with the body.

Why don’t you try it one day? Here is how you go. Warm up a cup of oil (of your choice, coconut oil/sesame oil/olive oil/almond oil). Start applying the oil when it is warm. Massage your hands, legs, lower back, shoulders – wherever you can. Stay with yourself for some time – let the oil soak in. And then wash it off with hot water and soap or whatever you want. The most important part is where the connection is made with the body using the hands. Feel the warmth of your hands on your body and enjoy this whole process. This is where the connection between body and mind happens.

If you have children, please teach them to enjoy this process of connecting with the body.

Whenever I have an oil bath, I think of my paati’s loving soft hands on me and I feel so comforted. She instilled this love for oil bath in me and I am so happy that it works great on the body-mind connect!

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