Come Back to Your Body

How many times did you touch your phone today?

I don't ask this to make you feel guilty. I ask because I noticed it in myself. I pick up the phone to check the weather, and suddenly I am reading about a recipe, then a celebrity, then a stranger's kitchen renovation. Twenty minutes are gone. And I feel more tired than before.

If this feels familiar, you are not alone.

Tech tiredness is real

This month the Global Wellness Institute shared a new podcast series from The Atlantic called How to Touch Grass. It speaks about a quiet change happening in our world. More people are now tired of their phones. Tired of the algorithms. Overwhelmed by the feeling of losing control over their own attention.

Many people are starting to miss the time before the internet. They want to get lost a little, to be bored, to be present.

I find this so hopeful.

Because I believe that underneath the tiredness, there is a wisdom. The body is calling us back.

What the scroll does to the body

When we scroll, our eyes are working, our mind is working, but our body is forgotten.

The head moves forward. The shoulders round. The breath becomes short and shallow. Many of us hold our breath while reading emails or messages, without even noticing.

The nervous system receives one small signal after another. A new message. A bad headline. A beautiful photo that makes us feel our own life is not enough.

The body never gets the message that it is safe to rest.

So at the end of the day we feel exhausted, even if we sat on the couch the whole evening. This is not laziness. This is a nervous system that never had a pause.

Five small ways to come back to your body

You don't need to throw your phone into the lake. The phone is a tool, and it can be a helpful one. The goal is to remember that you are the one holding it.

Here are five small practices I use myself and share with my clients.

1. Give the first 30 minutes of your morning to yourself. Before you look at the phone, drink a glass of warm water. Make your tea. Take a few slow breaths by the window. Let your own thoughts arrive before the world's thoughts.

2. Eat one meal a day without a screen. Notice the colors on your plate. The smell. The taste. Your digestion works better when your body knows it is eating. In Ayurveda we say we digest not only food, but also everything we take in through our senses.

3. Touch the earth every day. Walk barefoot on the grass. Put your hands in the garden soil. Take a walk without earbuds and listen to the birds, the wind, the leaves. Nature speaks to the body in a language it has known forever.

4. Check in with your body three times a day. Morning, lunch, and evening. Ask yourself: Is my jaw tight? Are my shoulders up near my ears? Am I breathing? Then soften what you can. It takes less than one minute.

5. Choose one real connection each day. Call a friend instead of texting. Sit with your family at dinner without phones. Look someone in the eyes. Hug for a little longer. A text message can share information, but it cannot give you a hug. Our bodies are made to feel safe with other people, through a warm voice, a kind face, a gentle touch.

Real connection is medicine

I have seen this again and again in my work. When women come to a live meditation, sit in a circle, or simply talk to someone who truly listens, something in them relaxes.

We are not meant to carry life alone behind a screen.

We are meant to breathe the same air, laugh at the same silly things, and share tea in the same kitchen.

Come practice with me

I recorded a new guided meditation called Come Back to Your Body. It is about 10 minutes long, and it gently guides you out of your head and back into your breath, your heart, and your feet on the earth. You can find it on my YouTube channel, RealmOfTranquility_withLuba . Here is the link: https://youtu.be/kIrdCxcbGfE

Maybe today is the day to put the phone in another room for one hour and see what you notice.

Your body has been waiting for you. It is always so happy when you come home.

Sending love from my heart to yours.

Luba