It is important to connect with the body because the mind can only take us so far. Consider learning, for example. We can read books and listen to lectures on a field of study for years on end, but until we put that knowledge into practice, it will always only be conceptual. We spend most of our lives experiencing most things through the mind and ignoring the signals of the body, but the experiences we have in life have an effect on our body by creating either expansion or contraction.
When we have an experience in life that triggers an emotional response, our body reacts in a physical way to that emotion. If the body’s reaction to the emotion is a contraction and we suppress and/or resist it, that emotion gets stored in the area of the body where the contraction occurs, which over time can lead to chronic tension, pain, and dis-ease. If the body’s reaction to the emotion is an expansion and we allow ourselves the time and space to process, express, and release it without resistance, the emotion passes through the body with ease and we move on with our life in balance and harmony.
When we use our mind to push our body through an experience it finds to be overly challenging, we often end up disconnecting from and ignoring the wisdom of the body. Now, I’m not saying we should never challenge our bodies, however we also need to be aware of caring for them in a way that gives to them as much as we take from them. And that requires connecting with, listening to, and giving it what it needs to heal and come back into a state of balance, comfort, and ease.