It is a testament to our incarnate nature that our spiritual lives and prayer practices impact our physical bodies. Anxiety and joy, spiritual wounds and healing a carried in the body – as the shallow breath of excitement, the sweaty palms of nervousness, and the “bounce in our step” of joy all tell us. As we become more consistent and practiced at detachment in general, and at the deliberate training in detachment in practices like Centering Prayer, the effects are likely to be felt in the body as well. As we “let go,” we may notice tingling or mild soreness or pain surface for a time as the body releases hurt or grief that had been held so tightly as to be actively repressed, or perhaps sweating as anxieties are allowed to be filtered away. The quality of sleep may improve as our disposition of detachment helps us to refrain from carrying worry and stress into our sleep time. In their explanation of Centering Prayer practice, Contemplative Outreach points out that “We may notice heaviness or lightness in our extremities. This is usually due to a deep level of spiritual attentiveness.” These feelings can grow into a more general release of muscle tension. As in all things, the fruits of prayer practice – physical, mental, and spiritual – are a manifestation and outgrowth of our unique relationship to God, so everyone’s bodily experience of prayer will be different, but we should not be surprised when our bodies are involved in the transformative process.