The Principle of Body Comfortable

by Susan Mankowski

I had a strong flu and was in a state of hypervigilance, feeling the pressure to get well again and looking for solutions. Without knowing it, I had let fear and tension in the door and my mind was exhausted from looking at my body as something separate to “fix.” I needed both a break from this acculturated perception of myself and an understanding of health that could touch the lack of ease I felt and bring genuine comfort to my body, mind, and feelings.

I had attended an online Self-Breema class the day before and the instructor, who had also been sick, mentioned how she was supported by one of the Nine Principles of Harmony, No Force. In the light of that principle, she saw that everything she had been doing to restore her health had the posture of force behind it.

Standing in the center of my living room, about to have some warm water, I remembered her insight and asked myself if that could be true for me. All these “good” things I was doing for health, how could there be force underneath it? I stopped the train of “doing” and just stood quietly in the room. I then simply registered my body standing, the weight of my body on my feet, my body breathing, and holding the warm jar of water in front of me. No longer moving full speed ahead on the agenda of recovery, I experienced myself with a quiet mind that was with my body in the moment, and I was present. Looking into the question of force from this posture, I immediately saw the effect of fear in approaching life, health, love, or anything we truly wish for. My recovery efforts were an attempt, out of fear, to force me back to health.

Receiving that insight along with simply being present brought with it a more vital posture toward my life. Now I experienced this life as a gift that was supportive, and not as a threat that would eventually bring me down. As gratitude came in, I intentionally examined my condition in the light of how it could support me, how I could benefit from it, and how it is a gift. A new element that had been absent came in, and that was acceptance for what is. Along with acceptance, I experienced that the tight holding on inside me, influenced by fear, began to let go. I experienced an ongoing flow of vital life force available and accessible in my body, mind, and feelings.

I lifted the jar to my mouth and experienced drinking the warm water as a Self-Breema. As I drank, I was simply drinking, directly connected to an experience of having life, and the principle of Body Comfortable filled me to the brim. With the support of being present, and the foundation of acceptance, I recognized that I was not my illness. There was meaning in that moment. I understood the definition of true health as heard in Breema class over the years, “Real health means harmony with Existence.” The body was still ill, but the battle within myself had subsided.

Susan Mankowski, LMT, is a Staff Instructor at the Breema Center in Oakland, California with an offsite base also in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Join her weekly in an online class, An Introduction to Self-Breema and the Nine Principles of Harmony, every Tuesday at no charge. Visit breema.info/intro.