Body Awareness

Body awareness.... it is so important to know where your body is in relation to something else.  But it goes beyond just knowing about your body.  Body awareness is our body movements in relation to the rest of our surroundings but also entails impulse control, spacial understanding, physical surroundings, abilities and level of hyperactivity.  For many, it is the pressure or touch sensations they exert or infer from something else.  In big words it is proprioception ~ how the body senses itself in the world.

After a freak occurrence this week, in which I was "accidentally" kicked so hard in the side of the head, we thought an emergency room visit was to be had to check for a concussion.  For two days now, I have been doing research on how to help my child understand where his body is in relation to other things.  Incidentally, we skipped the ER and just hoped my brains were not jostled around as not only was I kicked, but I fell and saw stars and had nausea for a good long time.  (yea... probably a concussion)

His body awareness is grossly out of wack.  He jumps on, off and over things haphazardly at best. He is currently watching tv while standing on his head and swinging his legs around.  He hugs hard, falls on purpose and crashes into things repeatedly.  He loves to be upside down.  He hits harder, stands closer, lays on top of and has no sense of how it feels for someone else.  Unfortunately, because weird and freaky accidents happen, I am often not caught off guard.  Other children or adults are not as ready and we are hyper concerned that his lack of awareness will seriously harm some unsuspecting person.

There are no magic answers or "cures".  But there are ways to help and teach him how to self regulate and self monitor.  Generally, some "heavy work" regulates things for about an hour.  It must happen frequently.  Heavy work can be wall push ups, chair push ups, pushing, pulling or wearing a weighted vest, blanket or bear.  Yoga can often help focus on deep breathing and mentally recognizing body parts and positions.  It is important to find yoga that is child friendly so that it is appropriate.  The martial art of Aikido teaches the principles of mind and body awareness and harmony between them. Occupational therapy can offer solutions and suggestions.

The answers are in this child who is wiggly and struggling before me.  The things he is good at often either calm or over stimulate him and must be monitored.  There are things we can learn and gather when we listen and watch, but it is a daily diet of balance we need to work to find for him.  His body will change dramatically in the next years and awareness will be like the ocean tides.  He will need the help and guidance, especially now when he comes dangerously close to seriously hurting someone (ME)!  And so we build things into our day, we research and read, we ask the right people and we find a balance for our child.