6 Ways to Improve Your Connection With Your Body

Aug 30

Have you ever found yourself feeling disconnected from your own body, going through the motions of daily life without truly feeling present?

Have you ever found yourself experiencing an avoidance of connecting with your body?

This disconnection can manifest in various ways, from neglecting physical needs to experiencing chronic stress or even feeling out of sync with your emotions.

Reestablishing a connection with your body is essential not only for physical health — but the reality is, in order to truly heal from painful experiences we must experience and process the ways in which they impact us. Disconnecting from your body can provide temporary relief, but it prevents you from long-term healing. Rather, when you tune in and listen to your body, you become more attuned to your needs, allowing you to respond with self-compassion and balance. This connection can serve as a grounding force, helping us navigate life's challenges with greater resilience and awareness.

Bodily disconnection might look like the following:

Numbing: Numbing is an autonomic protective mechanism in which emotions and physical sensations are dulled to avoid pain. When the nervous system becomes overwhelmed, it may go into its hypo-aroused state, where numbing is subconsciously used to decrease felt pain. Over time, numbing as a coping technique can lead to a sense of disembodiment, where the body is experienced as a distant or foreign entity rather than an integral part of the self.
Dissociation: Dissociation exists on a spectrum of severity, but in general, this occurs when the mind detaches from the body as a way to cope with overwhelming experiences or emotions. During dissociative episodes, you might feel as though you're watching yourself from the outside, or you may lose touch with time and space altogether. This can result in a profound sense of alienation from your own body, as if it’s no longer “yours” or you’re inhabiting it only partially. Dissociation can be both a response to trauma or a learned survival strategy.
Memory gaps: These gaps often occur when the brain shields itself from distressing events by compartmentalizing or repressing memories. This fragmentation of memory can lead to a disjointed sense of self, where certain parts of your life feel missing or inaccessible. Such gaps can create a lingering sense of unease or confusion, as if there are pieces of the puzzle missing in your personal history.
Unexplained physical symptoms: When the mind is disconnected from the body, it’s common for emotional distress to manifest as unexplained physiological symptoms or sensations. These symptoms, which might include chronic pain, digestive issues, or fatigue, are the body’s way of signaling that something is wrong, even if the mind is not fully aware of it. Because these symptoms often lack a clear medical explanation, they can be frustrating and isolating. This disconnect between the mind’s understanding and the body’s expression can make it difficult to address the root causes.
Lack of mindful choices: When you’re not fully in tune with your bodily needs and signals, decisions around food, exercise, rest, and other aspects of self-care can become automatic or influenced by external pressures rather than guided by internal cues. This can lead to patterns of behavior that neglect what your body truly needs, further reinforcing disconnection.
Disregarding or minimizing physical needs: This habit stems from dissonance between the mind’s demands and the body’s signals, often because those signals are deemed inconvenient or unimportant. You might push through hunger, exhaustion, or pain without addressing the underlying needs, driven by a belief that these physical sensations are secondary to other priorities. This behavior can lead to burnout, illness, or a deeper sense of disconnection as the body’s signals are repeatedly ignored. Over time, this disregard can weaken the body’s ability to communicate its needs effectively.
Avoidance of bodily awareness: This is best described as a reluctance to engage with your body, whether through movement, touch, or introspection. This avoidance might be driven by discomfort with physical sensations, negative body image, or simply not feeling “at home” in your own skin. This lack of presence in your body, where you go through the motions of daily life without truly interacting with your body and its cues, can limit your ability to experience joy, pleasure, or even relaxation, as you remain distanced from the sensations that ground you in the present moment.

How do we become disconnected from our bodies?

Stress and trauma. Experiencing high levels of stress or trauma can cause us to mentally “check out” as a way to cope with overwhelming emotions. When you experience overwhelming stress or traumatic events, your body may respond by shutting down or detaching from physical sensations to protect itself from overwhelm or emotional pain.

Low self-worth or shame. When you view your body as flawed or unworthy, you may avoid engaging with it, neglect its needs, or even actively criticize it. This avoidance and criticism can lead to a cycle of disembodiment, where you distance yourself from your body to escape the discomfort of self-judgment.

Chronic pain. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but if you struggle with chronic pain, the constant experience of discomfort or pain can lead to a desire to disconnect or escape from physical sensations. When the body is a source of ongoing pain, you may find yourself consciously or unconsciously distancing yourself from its cues.

Societal pressures. Cultural and societal expectations about body image and appearance can lead to a negative relationship with your body. When you are constantly bombarded with messages that your body should look a certain way or perform at a certain level, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy and a disconnection from your true physical self. This external focus can make it difficult to listen to your body’s needs or appreciate its natural state.

Neglect. Busy lifestyles often leave little room for self-care practices that promote body awareness and connection. But when you consistently ignore your body’s basic needs — such as adequate rest, nutrition, or physical care — you create a gap between your mind and body. Over time, this neglect can result in a diminished ability to recognize and respond to your body’s signals, making it easier to dismiss or overlook physical sensations altogether.

So, why bother improving the connection to your body?

First and foremost, being connected to your body is crucial for your overall well-being. You cannot nourish your mind while simultaneously neglecting your body. The wellness space talks about the “mind-body connection” all the time, but the reality is that they are one in the same. The mind facilitates what is happening in the body, and the body’s experiences influence one’s mental and emotional wellness.

Being attuned to your body serves as a foundation for managing stress, enhancing emotional regulation, promoting physical health, and fostering self-compassion. Through bodily awareness and attunement, you can more effectively recognize and address challenges in a holistic way.

A strong, functional working relationship between the brain and the rest of the body also encourages healthier lifestyle choices, as it prompts you to listen to your bodies' needs and respond with appropriate actions. This connection supports both physical and mental health outcomes — whether we’re talking about chronic pain, burnout recovery, ADHD symptoms, eating disorders, healing from trauma, anxiety, migraines, or any other physical or mental ailment.

If you’re convinced that this is important (and I hope you are), here are 6 ways to improve the connection with your body:

1. Practice deep breathing.

This is so therapist-y of me, I know, but it’s important to start at the basics. If you’re not used to interacting with your body, this is the place to start. Deep, intentional breathing not only calms the mind, but it forces you to focus on the rhythm and depth of your breath, how it feels to contract your diaphragm, and the sensations of inhaling and exhaling. Try techniques like box breathing or 4-7-8 breathing to get used to how it feels, then try moving on to something like the humming bee breath to incorporate more parts of the body.

2. Incorporate body scans.

A body scan is a mindfulness exercise where you mentally scan your body from head to toe, paying attention to any sensations you feel, including tension, discomfort, or relaxation. This practice helps you become more aware of physical sensations and how they relate to your emotional state. Body scanning works best when it’s accompanied by statements of self-compassion, but if that’s difficult, start by committing to neutrality (AKA not judging yourself for whatever you notice). By regularly performing body scans, you can identify areas where you may be holding stress or neglecting your body’s needs, allowing you to address these issues more proactively. This practice also encourages positive embodiment, helping you feel more connected to your physical self without judging it.

3. Engage in sensory activities.

Engaging your five senses — sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell — can help you reconnect with your body and the present moment. Activities such as listening to calming music, enjoying the scent of a candle, or savoring a piece of dark chocolate can bring you back into your body and heighten your awareness of physical sensations. By deliberately focusing on your sensory experiences, you can strengthen your attunement to your body and how it is responding to its external environment. Stimulating your five senses, using tools such as aromatherapy, soothing soundscapes, or spending time in nature, can ground you in the present moment and enhance your bodily awareness.

4. Try progressive muscle relaxation or polyvagal exercises.

Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique that involves systematically tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups in the body. This practice helps you become more aware of the difference between tension and relaxation in your muscles, allowing you to release physical stress more effectively. By regularly practicing this, you can enhance your ability to recognize when your body is holding tension and take steps to relax.

Another helpful technique can be to stimulate the vagus nerve, which is the body’s longest nerve. Part of the parasympathetic nervous system, the vagus nerve promotes relaxation, digestion, and healing. It branches out to various organs, including the heart, lungs, and digestive tract, communicating nerve signals that regulate many of our bodily functions. When our sympathetic nervous system is activated (the fight/flight response), or we’re in a freeze response, we can move back into our relaxation state by stimulating the vagus nerve. BUT, if you’re so disconnected from your body that you cannot recognize its cues, then that system is going to have a much harder time regulating your emotional responses. For more information on the vagus nerve and how to stimulate it for positive embodiment, check out this post!

5. Practice mindful movement.

Yes, I’m referring to exercise, but I’m also not referring to exercise. Incorporating movement is crucial in embodiment, but the most important aspect is to pay attention to how your body feels when you’re doing it. Stretching or taking walks are great strategies for less intensive movement that incorporate mindfulness. Engaging in activities that promote body awareness, such as yoga, tai chi, or dance, encourages you to focus on things such as your breath and movements, or enhance spatial awareness. If you’re more of an intense exercise kind of person (wish I could relate, but I can’t lol), that’s great too! Notice how your body responds to different cardiovascular levels, or what lifting weights feels like in your muscles. Is your body cueing you to change anything? Simply notice what’s happening and be sure to adjust if your body is telling you to. That’s the key to mindful movement.

6. Work with a therapist, specifically one with mindfulness and/or somatics training.

Within the safe and supportive container a good therapist provides, there is space to explore and heal from experiences that have led to disconnection. A therapist can guide you through practices such as mindfulness, somatic experiencing, or body-focused therapies that help you become more attuned to your physical sensations and emotional responses. They can also assist in uncovering and addressing underlying issues, such as trauma, stress, or negative self-beliefs, that contribute to disembodiment. Through this collaborative process, you can learn to recognize and trust your body’s signals, develop healthier coping strategies, and ultimately cultivate a more compassionate and integrated relationship with your body. If you’re in California and wanting to get started, feel free to reach out!

By taking these steps, you can gradually improve your connection with your body and cultivate a healthier, more mindful relationship with yourself. We know from decades of psychological and medical research that the body can hold onto what the brain avoids, so even if there is some initial discomfort in this process, I promise it’s worth it. 🌷