<center>![elijah-hiett-woman-with-hands_RZ.jpg](https://s6.postimg.org/5hxb7h5wx/elijah-hiett-woman-with-hands_RZ.jpg)</center>

What if I were to tell you, that you're completely unaware of 90% of what is going around you right now? Your amazing human mind, via your subconscious is filtering out most of what you're experiencing in any given moment, allowing you to concentrate on a variety of things, including reading this article.

However sometimes the conscious mind drifts, it becomes full of thoughts and intentions which distract you from your true purpose. When you learn to consciously filter out these distractions, you enter into something we call, *flow state*.

Flow state is the point at which everything works perfectly, where everything you do just comes off perfectly. Whether you're riding your bike, playing a sport, chatting to friends, or giving a presentation at work, when you're in flow, it's almost like another person is doing the do, as you simply sit back, watch, and smile.

In this article, I want to tell you how to use feel to get into the flow; notice I'm not talking about *feelings* here, I am talking about physical touch, one of the underrated human sensations, and one you ignore on a daily basis, and are in fact, ignoring right now!

Awareness Through Touch
=======================
<center>![bare feet on a rock_RZ.jpg](https://s6.postimg.org/obj44h44x/bare_feet_on_a_rock_RZ.jpg)</center>

Where are you right now? Are you sitting on a sofa, a chair, lying in bed? What are you wearing? What materials are the clothes you are wearing made of? 

Chances are, if you're asked these questions at any given time, you can answer them immediately without even thinking about it. However there is something to consider with all those questions, that your brain is constantly filtering out a major sensation.

Do something for me right now, whether you're lying down, sitting, or standing, as you read these words; without looking at them I want you to focus on your feet. Let your attention drift down towards them, when you get there, I want you to focus on what they *feel* like.

Are you wearing socks, or tights, and/or shoes? What do they feel like on your skin? Now let your attention drift to the left side of your upper back, just under and behind your arm. Focus on what the material of your top feels like against your skin.

What about the room you're sitting in; is it air-conditioned, or does it have the window open? Is that breeze hitting you evenly all over your body; or just parts of it?

I want you to experience this all without any inner commentary, just turn off that internal dialogue we all have going on, and just experience the feel. You might notice as you read this and concentrate on how individual parts of you feel; that things have gone a little quiet as you do this, that's because your brain is now consciously paying attention to things it usually edits out for you.

The human sense of touch is one of the most underrated human senses, because unless you are blind, or work in certain industries, we rarely focus on how we feel, unless externally we have a bruise, or an itch, or internally when we are not feeling well.

When was the last time you randomly focused on your knee; or your elbow?

Exactly.

So What? I hear you say; *how the hell does thinking about my elbow at random times of day help me in any way, shape, or form?*

It does because when you focus on how any particular part of your body feels, you are diverting conscious effort into paying attention to something that is affecting you *here* and *now*.

The reason your hearing, and sometimes your vision is affected when you did the experiment above, is because our brains find it a stress to consciously pay attention to more than a few things at once. In order to avoid confusion, the brain filters out the sensations or part-sensations it feels are not important to you. So you're much more likely to notice a bad back, than how your socks are resting on your feet.


The point of doing this is that it's a way of practising staying in the moment, and when you focus on the here and now there is a much bigger chance that you will slip into flow state, and start performing whatever task it is you need to perform, perfectly and 

effortlessly.

The Science Of Touch
====================
<center>[![Somatopic representation_humunculus_motor cortex.jpg](https://s6.postimg.org/6qps6un8x/Somatopic_representation_humunculus_motor_cortex.jpg)</center>

Before we go on, I want to make you aware of the neurological factors behind how we experience the sensation of touch, in different parts of our bodies. 

Essentially all sensations of touch are felt in the brain by the *primary motor cortex*, and as you can see from the image above of a somatotopic representation of the body in the primary motor cortex, along with a representative homunculus figure, how we experience touch is not the same over the entire body. 

As you'd expect, your hands and soles of your feet are very well represented, as it pays to be sensitive in these areas. Likewise with your face, however things like toes have a much smaller representation.

This is why if I ask you right now; without looking, to try and focus on your forth toe, right next to your little toe, it's actually really quite difficult to do while keeping it still.

Ultimately what this means is, it is much easier for your brain to filter out touch than say sound, this makes it all the more rewarding when you actually focus on these areas; let me give you an example of what I mean.

As you may be aware, I am a keen golfer, and whilst I'm  no Tiger Woods, I do enjoy the game immensely, however it is a very difficult game, and one which your own thoughts can often get in the way of a good performance.

Therefore when I'm playing and trying to bring myself back to the moment, so that I can be in flow state, and perform without fear, I use the trick of being aware of touch sensations.

This helps anchor me to whatever my location is at the time, whilst that may sound strange at first, it makes perfect sense.

If you've ever played golf, then you know that you are playing on a course whereby it is likely to have other golfers playing in front and behind you. Therefore it is not uncommon to see people several hundred yards behind you, waiting for you to clear the green so they can take their shots.

At this point, a lot of amateur golfers will feel extra pressure in this situation, this is because by and large, we don't want to keep people waiting. However that often means that you will miss your shot due to this sudden queuing pressure, the reason being is because you immediately start viewing your shot from *their* point of view.

Essentially you are trying to take a shot,while standing several hundred yards away from it, it is almost inevitable, that you will miss that shot.

So in that circumstance, I like to concentrate on how my trousers are feeling on my skin, or perhaps how the golf club I'm holding feels in my hands. Although I like to concentrate on parts of the body that aren't well represented in the motor cortex, as that means more focus, meaning I simply forget about the people waiting and am back inside my own head ready to play.


Mastering The Touchy Feely
==========================
<center>![sandeep-swarnkar-man in red hood_DRZ_25.jpg](https://s6.postimg.org/qwoorztip/sandeep-swarnkar-man_in_red_hood_DRZ_25.jpg)</center>

OK, so now let us work through a simple exercise, designed to bring you back inside your own head, and not worry so much what others are thinking. Which will in turn help you slip into a natural flow state, and perform the task at hand with ease, and precision.


**Step 1 - Sit comfortably**

Sit in a high backed chair if possible, do not recline or lie down, this isn't necessarily about relaxing (though that is often a byproduct), it is about being alert *and* being in flow state. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor and you're in a position that you can maintain comfortably for at least a few minutes.

**Step 2 - Regulate your breathing**

Don't force this stage, you don't necessarily have to take mega-deep breaths, keep your breathing as natural as possible, however at the same time strike up a rhythm, of always breathing in and out for the same amount of time. This has the added bonus of regulating your heartbeat, and making you feel calm.

**Step 3 - Feel**

As you feel your chest rise and fall from your breathing, start concentrating how the material of what you're wearing is expanding and contracting in synch with your chest moving up and down. 

Now allow your attention to travel across your body. Start first by sliding your attention down your arms, pause around your biceps and the inside of your elbows. Notice how you feel there in general, as well as how your clothes feel against your skin. Now continue down to the palms of your hand, which should be resting on the arms of the chair or your lap.

If they are not already, place your hands on your lap then switch your focus to the tops of your thighs, really focus on how they are reacting to the pressure of your hands resting on them. Notice how their temperature is higher there than the rest of your legs.  If you don't have feeling in your legs then instead place your hands on your stomach and notice the difference there.

Experience all of this without any inner commentary, instead just focus on exactly what the part of your body you're thinking about, feels like.

The beauty about this technique, is that you will instantly be able to take it outside, do it when you're walking down the street, sitting in your car, or on the bus. As you get better at it, start focusing on more obscure, and smaller parts of your body.

Try and experience what it feels like on the left side of your toe nail, on your third toe, or what it feels like on the outside of your elbow, or how your T-Shirt feels against your belly button. The combinations are endless, and the more you do it, the easier you will find it.

Just remember to practice as much as possible, because this will help you nullify distractions that you once found almost impossible to ignore. 

Overcoming distraction is a main component to achieving flow state, and once you're in flow, you can quite literally, do anything.

So let's get all touchy feely, and get into the flow and Steem on!

>### Incredible You Flow state Series 
>
>[Incredible You! - Finding Your Flow State Superpower](https://steemit.com/incredibleyou/@cryptogee/incredible-you-finding-your-flow-state-superpower)
>
>[Incredible You! - Move Like An Animal With Ido Portal](https://steemit.com/incredibleyou/@cryptogee/incredible-you-move-like-an-animal-with-ido-portal)
>
>[Incredible You! - Connect To The Moment And Enhance Your Power With Sound](https://steemit.com/incredibleyou/@cryptogee/incredible-you-connect-to-the-moment-and-enhance-your-power-with-sound)
>
>[Incredible You! - Feeling The Flow With The Power Of Touch](https://steemit.com/incredibleyou/@cryptogee/incredible-you-feeling-the-flow-with-the-power-of-touch)

DO YOU KNOW WHAT FLOW STATE FEELS LIKE? HAVE YOU HAD THOSE MOMENTS OF PERFECTION AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHY? HOW WAS IT WHEN YOU DID THE TOUCH EXERCISE ABOVE? AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!


[*Cryptogee*](https://steemit.com/@cryptogee)

>All images in this post have been cleared for commercial use by the original artists