Why am I stuck in my head?
Do you spend a lot of time in your head and wish you could feel more at home in your body? Read my blog to find out why this happens and what you can do about it.
Nestled in the Bordeaux countryside on a gentle hill among vineyards and plum trees lies Plum Village. Here, everyone stops every 20 minutes to reconnect with the present moment. A bell serves as a gentle reminder. You pause whatever you're doing and consciously follow three full breaths with your attention.
Throughout the book, the text is interrupted by little stars. At the very beginning, you're invited to pause at each star you encounter and reconnect with your body. A beautiful invitation woven into the book "The Power of Now".
Both Thich Nhat Hanh and Eckhart Tolle use these kinds of practices to help us break the habit of constant thinking — by intentionally creating a moment where attention shifts from thinking to feeling. The body and our breath can only be experienced in the now. Through our body, we make contact with the present moment, which is where life actually happens.
Why am I stuck in my head
I think most people can relate, to some degree, to having an overactive mind that simply won't rest. Where a small trigger from the outside world unravels a chain of thoughts that pulls you into your own inner world for a while. So why is it that we almost compulsively get caught up in our thinking? The main reason so many of us overthink is simply because our body doesn't feel safe to us.
The emotions and sensations moving through our body can sometimes feel uncomfortable, and so we take refuge in thinking. And when both the body and the mind feel overwhelming, we escape even further through dissociation. This is a psychological term for when you step outside your body — and even outside your head. In that state, it becomes impossible to process information and everything feels foggy.
Your body, the source of healing
It's a wonderful thing to have a body. We can feel, taste, sing, dance, and be intimate. At the same time, our body carries pain and grief from the past — because our nervous system was once unable to fully process a certain experience. The body quite literally couldn't digest what happened. Carrying these old pains costs energy and limits our sense of freedom. That's why being in your body can sometimes feel uncomfortable, and why you may find yourself drifting, almost unknowingly, up into your head.
Your body is a source of healing. When it experiences enough space, rest, and life energy, it can even heal old wounds. This is why embodiment matters so much for the quality of our lives. By coming into deeper contact with our body, we become more aware of our needs and what is truly healthy for us. We know our boundaries better. We surround ourselves with people who nourish us. We do work that gives us energy. We move at our body's natural pace and feel more connected to nature. All of this allows us to experience more vitality and joy, and to develop a deeper trust in our body. With that trust and energy, we can begin to meet the old pain and allow it to heal. And so the upward cycle of an embodied life begins.
An invitation
I warmly invite you to reconnect with your life energy and, from that place of inner strength, to meet the blocks that no longer serve you — so you can move through life with more freedom and aliveness. You're welcome to join one of my workshops or book an individual session. For more information, visit the page about my offerings.
