Create a routine: The basis for becoming more aware of your body is that you do the activities regularly. Ideally, you reserve a few minutes for one or two body exercises every day. This can be 10 minutes of mindful meditation, some minutes of dancing to a song you like, or 10 - 20 minutes of SPT-20 minute dance.
Learning comes through reflection: The second step is taking the time to think about your experiences, e.g. with the question: How did I feel today? It plays an important role in becoming aware of our body sensations. We recommend having a small notebook and writing down your learning every day. Once a month take time to review what you have written.
Find your crowd: One of our learning was that it was hard to keep the routine if you do it on your own.
One tip is to organize it always at the same time, e.g. first thing in the morning or when you come home after work.
Another idea was that you find some colleagues or friends, with whom you exercise together, e.g. during the lunch break or during a coffee break
Community helps: in our project, we organized online meetings, where we exchanged our experiences and also exchanged new activities. This reminded us of our good intentions.
Feedback from our exploration with different target groups:
One of our participants works with different theatre and body activities in a pre-adolescent school (11 - 14 years). What surprised her, was that the 5-finger breathing exercise really helped to calm the pupils down at the end of the session. It is a very easy tool and suitable for children who often need a concrete reference.
Another experience to calm down students was to use the bubble dance in reverse. Instead of starting small (as described in the exercise) you start with big bubbles and let them become smaller and smaller until there is almost no movement anymore. Then they sat down and concentrated on their breathing before they went off to their next lectures.
Personal reflection: During the test phase, one person tried to "dance'" for 10 minutes before work, if she managed to organize it. “I didn't necessarily expect it, but on days when I start the day with my "dance", I face challenges or problems much more calmly and relaxed. I want to keep this routine for myself, as it enriches me personally”. (A.S., project coordinator in an NGO from Austria)
In working with adults we found that they are much more open than we sometimes think. The feedback from the external trainers at the laboratory in Estonia was very positive and participants were surprised how small movements can bring powerful insights into topics.
We hope you are inspired by the different activities and invite you to try out some of the methods either by yourself or with the audience you are working with. We wish you an exciting exploration in becoming more aware of your body.
The BodyWise Team
Conclusions of the Project Activities
These materials are intended to be an inspirational source for individuals who want to work on their ability to listen to the current moment and develop more empathy towards others. Furthermore, they are also for trainers, teachers, coaches, and social workers working with groups who want to encourage more empathy in communication.
The conclusion from the Bodywise Laboratory
The evaluation at the end of the Bodywise Laboratory in Estonia showed that the participants felt calm, centered, relaxed, and noticed an improvement in physical well-being. Furthermore, they reported feeling more aware of their bodies and of the body’s need to be taken care of and listened to. The participants also reported being grateful for the experience and that they were filled with new ideas and impressions. They felt more open and curious to explore new possibilities and were willing to go deeper into the use of methods and their potential.
Comparison of the responses before and after
We asked participants at the beginning and at the end of the Bodywise Laboratory how they felt at this current moment. The initial set of responses reflected a mix of excitement, curiosity, anxiety, and a bit of tiredness or stress. In contrast, the latest set of responses showed a more positive and confident tone, with mentions of being open to exploration, and feeling calm, happy, and inspired. The latest set of responses also included a notable rise in body awareness and self-care, indicating a deeper understanding and appreciation for the discussed methods.
Within the Erasmus+ project, all the partners valued the experience and expressed that they learned new methods and added that they wanted to establish a routine with body-awareness activities in their lives.
