At Pinnacle Hill Chiropractic, we support whole-body healing by helping you build body awareness.
When you notice how your body feels, you can better respond to stress, pain, and the need for rest or movement. Psychologist Hillary L. McBride, PhD, explores this in her books The Wisdom of Your Body and Practices for Embodied Living. Her research shows that body awareness can support healing, resilience, and emotional well-being.
What Is Body Awareness?
Body awareness means noticing your body’s sensations, tension patterns, emotions, and posture. It helps you understand how your body is feeling.
Many people are disconnected from their bodies due to stress, trauma, or chronic pain. This disconnection can make healing more of a difficult process.
Body awareness helps bring your attention back to what your body is saying to you. It allows you to notice what feels safe, tense, tired, or strong. You can think of it in a way that body awareness lets you hear your body whisper to you, instead of only starting to hear it when it is yelling for help.
Embodiment and the Nervous System
Embodiment means being fully present in your body and experiencing life through physical awareness. It supports a calm, balanced nervous system.
McBride writes that embodiment helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the “rest and repair” part of your body’s stress response.
When you are embodied, your body feels safer. This safety supports physical healing, emotional balance, and a greater sense of connection to yourself.
Embodiment also helps you become more aware of physical and emotional patterns that may be holding you back.
Why Body Awareness Matters in Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care helps your musculoskeletal and nervous systems function better. But real, lasting change also happens between visits.
When you practice body awareness, you can notice when your body is holding tension or moving with more ease.
This awareness helps you:
- Note changes after treatments
- Support functional daily movements
- Calm your nervous system during stressful moments
- Build resilience and healing over time
Body awareness makes chiropractic care more effective and long-lasting.
Ways to Practice Body Awareness and Embodiment
You can start small. McBride offers practical ways to connect with your body daily in Practices for Embodied Living:
- Breath awareness: Take a few minutes to feel your breath move through your nose, ribs, and belly.
- Movement check-ins: Notice how your body feels during walks, stretches, or rehab exercises. Move slowly and with curiosity.
- Somatic pause: Take a moment in your day to notice posture, tension, and sensation. Ask: What does my body need right now?
- Touch and grounding: Use your hands to gently touch your legs, arms, or chest. This can create a sense of calm and presence.
- Naming sensations: Instead of naming emotions, try describing physical sensations: “There’s a heaviness in my chest” or “My jaw feels tight.”
- Micro-movements: Gently sway, roll your shoulders, or wiggle your toes. These small movements help wake up the nervous system.
- Nature connection: Spend time outdoors and notice how your body feels in fresh air, sunlight, or on the ground.
- Body-based self-compassion: Place a hand on your heart or belly and offer kindness to yourself through physical touch.
- Chiropractic and bodywork: Gentle care, movement, and hands-on support help support the nervous system and deepen embodiment. Book here to begin working with one of our chiropractors or massage therapists to help build body awareness.
Try My Favorite Movement Class
Something that blends so much of these practices for embodiment is the movement platform, Range. Created by movement specialist, Kara Duval, Range is a movement medicine cabinet full of breath awareness, somatic movement, grounding, micro-movements, nature connection, and body-based self-compassion (all things listed above). Try out a full length class on Range that gives you plenty of opportunity for embodiment. If you enjoy this, you can see on the link that there are a handful of other free classes on Range. I have been a member of Range for many years and am consistently recommending it to my patients because of Kara’s wonderful ability to encourage embodiment and body awareness.
So hopefully you feel inclined to dive into these books by Hillary L. McBride, PhD, work with your chiropractor, try these small practices, or check out Range. Body awareness is a skill you can develop over time. As you practice, your body becomes a place of safety, wisdom, and healing.
