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Seven Lessons You Can Learn From Your Aging Body
Emotional, Spiritual Riches of the Aging Body
Explored in New Book
By Pat Samples,
Author of Body
Odyssey: Lessons from the Bones and Belly
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Pat Samples has spent her life supporting
positive personal transformation for older adults, family
caregivers, and others wanting to generate more vibrancy,
creativity, and peace of mind in their lives.
Read more below. |
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Oct. 25, 2005 - Want to feel more at ease in your
body? Too often we rush through our days, barely noticing the warnings
our bodies give us or even the pleasures they experience. What might
they have to tell us if we listened to their wisdom?
Try treating your body as your best friend. These
exercises from Body Odyssey: Lessons from the Bones and Belly can help
you wake up to what your body knows and what it needs.
1. The
next time you’re with other members of your family, notice how they
walk, sit, gesture. When they speak, notice the volume, tone, and pitch
of their voices. Compare your own movement and vocal qualities with
theirs. Reflect on how the qualities you have picked up from your family
have shaped your life.
2. People
may sometimes comment on your getting older, saying things like, “What
can you expect at your age?” or “You’re not as young as you used to be,
you know.” If they do, how do you react? Notice the thoughts that come
to mind about your body. Pay attention to your physical reactions, such
as putting your hand somewhere on your body that you think feels or
looks “old.” What are these reactions based on?
3. Stand
comfortably on both feet. Become attentive to how you’re standing.
Without changing anything, notice if your weight is more on one foot
than the other. If you’re unable to stand, notice as you’re sitting or
lying if your weight is more on one side of your body than another. By
simple acts of observing your body like this, you can begin to discover
the desires and wisdom it holds.
4. Scan
your body until you find an area of pain or discomfort. Name that area
(such as “my neck tension”) and complete the sentence: “Sometimes (my
painful area) is like…” ten or more times. Write a playful poem or story
based upon one of your responses.
5. Move
your right arm around in a big circle. Do the same with your left arm.
Notice which arm does the motion more easily. Do the motion again with
that arm, restricting the movement to match the way the other arm is
restricted. Then do the motion again with both arms and notice any
differences in the freedom of movement.
6. Try
this exercise the next time you are feeling anxious. Step back from your
anxiety as best you can and observe the reactions of your body and mind
one by one.
Describe aloud what you’re noticing or write it down: “My heart is
beating faster. My face is hot. I’m having trouble breathing. I feel a
zinging sensation in my brain.”
Describe your thinking: “I’m having thoughts about wanting to calm down
and get this under control.” Your purpose is not to change anything that
is happening. In fact, avoid trying to change anything. That may only
increase your anxiety.
Simply notice what is happening, as a compassionate but detached
observer would. You cannot do this exercise wrong. Its only purpose is
to invite greater awareness. Over time, this attentive observing of your
experience may diminish your anxiety or panic.
7.
Practice saying “no” in front of a mirror. Say it in various
ways—fearfully, brazenly, comically, in a teasing way, respectfully.
Vary the volume. As you say each no, be aware of your posture,
movements, facial expression, and feeling of energy. Have fun with this
exercise. Use it as a warm-up for saying a “no” you need to say.
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About Pat Samples: |
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Buy The Book |
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Body Odyssey: Lessons
from the Bones and Belly |
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Description
Our bodies have surprising stories to tell and
wisdom to offer about our lifetime of experiences,
especially in our older years. If we listen
mindfully, they will reveal the wisdom of these
stories in ways that can transform our lives, right
up to our last breath.
Body Odyssey takes readers inside moments when the
body is communicating eloquently--whether about
trauma or triumph--to find meaning, healing, and
creativity in these experiences. The author's
lyrical reflections on her own body discoveries plus
her passionate call for a paradigm shift in the way
we regard our bodies invites readers to awaken their
own bodies' revelations.
More on Amazon.com - Click Here |
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Author
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Daily Comforts for
Caregivers (Fairview Press 1999)
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Self-Care for Caregivers: A
Twelve Step Approach (Hazelden 2000)
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Comfort and Be Comforted:
Reflections for Caregivers (ACTA, 2001)
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Three more books — on mental
illness and chemical dependency
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Body Odyssey: Lessons from
the Bones and Belly
-- a memoir that goes beyond personal story to create a
call for appreciating the wisdom and creativity of our
bodies until their last breath.
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Samples has also authored
hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles on
spirituality, health, aging, caregiving, body wisdom,
and human behavior
Editor
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The PHOENIX, a Minneapolis-St.Paul
wellness and recovery paper,1995-2003
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Family Care, a quarterly
publication of Catholic Charities, St. Paul, for family
caregivers, 2002-2003.
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Also editor for numerous
self-help books.
Education
Frequent speaking and
workshop topics
Writing and publishing
A grant from the Minnesota
Department of Human Services has supported her workshops
on caregiving statewide in Minnesota, and she frequently
speaks and leads workshops on caregiving and aging
throughout the country.
Member of adjunct faculty
Metropolitan State University
(past)
Saint Mary's University
(graduate human development program)
Website:
http://www.agingandcaregiving.com/ |
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