Getting out of your head can be really challenging, because the instinct is to FIX IT WITH YOUR HEAD as we discovered last week. Which is really frustrating, because it has the opposite result to what you truly need and want.
So, to carry on today we move on to Part 2: Get Into Your Body + Develop New Habits.
 
GET INTO YOUR BODY BY MAKING IT FEEL NICE
Being in your head means that you’re analysing and judging the world around you rather than staying with your experience. This is a challenging habit to unlearn, but I know you can do it. You know how I know? Because you’re here, with me, reading this!
The best place to start, is to nurture your relationship and connection with your body, and start focusing on how you feel.
Which means not on what you’re thinking, and also not on what you THINK you are feeling! Oh no, thought you could trick me there didn’t you!? So stop analysing what you think your feeling, just focus on your body for now.
This is how:
 
Drink Water.
Drinking adequate amounts of water help with: headaches, tiredness, irritability, lethargy, muscle cramps, lack of concentration, and much, much more. Being present in your body is much nicer if your body feels good and drinking water is imperative to feeling good.
I easily drink 2-3 litres of water a day, simply by always making sure I have a full glass nearby, and a water bottle with me wherever I go. Water is your life force!
 
Eat Well.
All those things your mum told you to eat when you were a kid – eat them. The green leafy things and the acidic brightly coloured fleshy things, put them in your mouth. There are so many nutrients in them that are vital for not only feeling nice, but actually operating anywhere near your full capacity that I couldn’t list them all here.
And if you can’t decide what to eat, and what not to eat, keep it simple. Fresh fruit and vegetables are always good. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are very grounding and nourishing. Eat what makes you feel good, comforted and taken care of.
Don’t follow other people’s rules. Eat what FEELS good to you. Even if it’s 29 watermelons or a huge green salad, or 7 organic grass-fed sausages. If it FEELS good to you, then it is good. Your body always knows best.
 
Exercise Every Day
This doesn’t mean you need to go lift weights and jump around to techno. No. Simply walking around your local park, engaging with nature, swimming in the sea and dancing around your bedroom to your favourites tunes is the prefect exercise. Do whatever makes you feel good.
 
Stretch.
A good stretch session can feel better than (or as good as awesomely-mind-blowing-incredible) sex. Seriously. And no, I’m not doing it wrong. You would know, if you’ve ever done one of my Stretchercise™ classes with me. Which is a lot like yoga, but usually done in someone’s living room, whilst giggling hysterically and trying to look as ridiculous as possible.
When your body feels tight and restricted, it’s very easy to mistake that physical tension for psychological tension and overanalyse it in your head. (Ooops!)
When you stretch, all that tension goes away and that’s one less thing you have to deal with. So basically, what I’m getting at here is: do yoga. Or come to my house and let’s Stretchercise™ together.
 
DEVELOP NEW HABITS
If you’ve been practising your highly-refined skill of analysing the present moment and being stuck in your head for a few months or even years, then it takes time and work to deal with it.
So, lets begin now.
 
Just like being in your mind, being in your body is a skill. And the more time you spend practising that skill, the more automatic it becomes and the simpler it becomes to use it.
If you find it very easy to be stuck in your head and very automatic to be stuck in your head, it means you’ve been practising for long enough to make it automatic and easy.
The way you make it easier to get into and stay in your body is to practice, practice, and practice. Eventually, with enough practice, it will become more natural and effortless.
This raises the following question: what do you need to practice?
 
There are two core skills required for getting into your body:
1. Being able to consciously choose where you direct your attention.
2. Directing your attention onto your physical experience.
 
I HIGHLY recommend to get you started here:
 
Meditate.
Meditation is the single most effective tool for getting out of your head and into your body. Why? Because if teaches you both of the two skills necessary to get more into your body: consciously directing your attention and directing it onto your experience of life.
If you start your day analysing, thinking, and deconstructing, then you’re most likely going to carry that mindset through the day and into the night.
If you start the day just feeling and experiencing the moment, you’re going to carry that throughout your day.
 
Practice That Focus.
From meditation, you will have learnt how to focus intently and only good and positive feelings and sensations. If you keep practicing that focus throughout the day, your life will begin transform immediately.
Here are some ways in which you can keep practicing focus.
 
Be Present.
Whenever you’re just sitting or you’re doing menial tasks that don’t require analysis (like washing the dishes, walking familiar routes, cooking familiar dishes), then focus on how you feel.
Keep moving your attention away from your head and into what you’re doing and how you feel in your body.
 
Turn Off Alerts On Your Mobile.
Mobile phones are an amazing source of distraction. Especially modern smart phones with texting, push notifications, email, as well as calls. Put your phone on silent and only check it when you finish one task so you can stay focussed and directed.
 
Do One Thing At A Time.
Don’t multitask, don’t try to be everything for everyone all the time, just focus on doing one thing at one time. The way this will help you is that whilst you’re not practising the skill of noticing your experience, you’re still developing the skill of consciously directing your attention at any given point in time.
That will make it far easier to transition back to focussing on your experience when you can than if you’d just let yourself constantly be distracted.
 
Be Organised.
Being disorganised is one of the simplest and easiest ways to keep yourself stuck in your head. When you’re disorganised, you have to constantly think about the different things you have going on in your world. Start writing down lists, keeping dates and appointments in a calendar and organise and tidy your home so things are easy to find and do.
Next, I am going to show you how to eliminate the triggers that firmly place you in your head, and how to integrate all these new lessons so they dramatically improve your life, in Part 3 of this mini series.