Below are some tips that will give your body an equal say in how you use it.

Start with the breath. Breathing consciously is a major part of body awareness. Turn off thoughts and just let yourself experience the inflow and outflow of breath. Label them, "In. Out. In. Out." Note how  you are breathing. Quick, shallow breaths may be a clear sign that something important is going on.

Allow yourself quiet time. Sit for ten minutes just observing yourself, even (especially!) in the middle of a busy day. Meditate. Take a walk or a nap. Allow time to do nothing. Soak in a hot tub rather than taking a quick shower.

Get a massage. It's not self-indulgence to be massaged; it wakes up the whole nervous system and helps you tune in.

Use your journal to dialogue with your body. Ask your body how it's feeling, what it wants, what's going on. Give that sore wrist or stiff lower back a voice and let it tell you what its message is.

Eat when hungry, sleep when tired. Take a week and really pay attention to your body's most basic needs. Do your real rhythms for eating and sleeping conform to the habits you've established? If they don't, change them!

Do a body inventory to relax. Start with your toes and work upwards. Scan your body from the inside. Or try tensing each part slightly, then relaxing it to release residual tension.

Practice mindfulness. Get used to tuning in to your physical self, wherever you are, whatever you're doing.

And if your body suggests rolling down a grassy hillside, taking flight on a playground swing, or skipping down a winding path, why resist? Its impulses hold the key to our well-being!