bodily awareness with nursery rhymes

The Buddha described the path to liberation in one sentence: "present moment awareness directed toward the body."

That's it.

In my experience, there are two difficulties here:

(1) we simply forget to direct awareness toward the body

(2) when we try, it quickly becomes boring and/or compulsive, or we get easily distracted

Here's a technique to overcome those difficulties: use songs like "The Hokey Pokey" & "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes."

Here's how to use the Hokey Pokey:

• the next time you're feeling outta sorts, bring the Hokey Pokey to mind

• pick a body part you could Hokey Pokey with: left hand, right knee, head, chest...

• bring your awareness to that part of the body

• feel it

• notice that you're feeling it

• maintain this awareness for no longer than it takes to sing one verse of Hokey Pokey

• wait at least 1 minute before repeating with a different body part

Here's how to use Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes:

• the next time you're feeling outta sorts, bring Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes to mind

• pick one of those four: head, shoulders, knees, or toes

• bring your awareness to that part of the body

• feel it

• notice that you're feeling it

• maintain this awareness for no longer than it takes to sing one verse of Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes

• wait at least 1 minute before repeating with a different body part

I put the limits in place to prevent the activity from becoming compulsive. We benefit more when the activity is undertaken deliberately & mindfully. Doing the activity compulsively can become counterproductive, especially if we start stressing about it. Try to engage the activity freshly each time. Be lighthearted about it. If it's becoming a chore, set it aside for a while, & return only when you feel called.