How are our body, boundaries, and growth & well-being related?

As I write this, gray clouds are drifting invisibly across the gray sky, I have a slight backache, and there's a feeling of restfulness within.

Talking of the world inside and out, around a year ago I wrote about boundaries. And maybe it is a summer thing, but boundaries have been on my mind again - also because of what I see coming up in different sessions.

A popular understanding of boundaries is that of keeping others out or safeguarding the (sense of) emotional/physical/spiritual/energetic self. That is indeed one of the purposes.

But today I want to talk about a fundamental concept of the body as a boundary.

Our body is a boundary of coherent aliveness

The roots of the English word boundary come from "bind" , that is, to stick together or cohere.

A boundary is a container - like our body (layers of skin, muscles, bones, tissue) which contain our life force, our feelings, sensations, organs, life processes and thoughts. And all these entities within us interact with each other to make "us".

So a fundamental functions of a boundary in our life is this coherence as an alive being.

When we are lost in the rich and sometimes overwhelming sensory input around us - we may start to lose a sense of who we are - where do we end and where does the world begin? What do we want? Are we separate from our phone/work/relationships? Can we live without it/them???

And in such moments of overwhelm, it can be incredibly empowering to feel and remind ourselves of our physical boundaries. Because it is from this place of being anchored that we can start to explore ourselves - our desires, fears, blocks...

Here's a simple exercise I learned from Dr Peter Levine's course on Somatic Experiencing to anchor into the body. This exercise grounds me and a client described it as an "energy shower". Dr Levine says,

"...building a sense of your body as your container, you will find a greater capacity to befriend some of the uncomfortable sensations and feelings that you may have previously disconnected from."

Grounding ourselves in the physical boundaries of our body

This exercise can take between 10 - 30 minutes.

• To begin, take your left foot in both of your hands and squeeze it gently and firmly so you can feel its density and shape. Say something like, "This is my foot - it is a container for my life, feelings, and sensations."

• Feel the energy of the squeeze and the letting go. Use just enough pressure to get a sense of each muscle.

• Then move upwards and repeat this for the whole body (both the left and the right side). Go over the major parts of the body in whatever order you like, e.g., the calves, knees, thighs, pelvis, abdomen, chest, shoulders, throat, face, forehead, head, back of the head, neck, back (upper, middle, lower), butt and so on....

That was it. If you try this exercise, tell me how it went.

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