In many situations or events, as well as in relationships, we develop various habits. We create routines in thinking, like having strict beliefs, expectations or opinions. We repeat our actions over and over. We react emotionally in habitual ways to certain people, events or challenges. We structure our life in patterns, like we have our morning routines. 

Such habits allow us to go through life on auto-pilot. They can make us feel safe, but in the long run, some of them can end up limiting our freedom and becoming like a cage around us. 

At one point we might notice that habits make us prisoners of ourselves. 

- What provokes your trip to the kitchen cabinet to search for chocolate? Which need or sensation do you want to satisfy or overcome? With focused attention, you can find out the triggers in specific situations and deal with them.

 - You might find yourself stuck in fixed opinions and become defensive. You might notice that these moments harm your relationships with others. Increasing awareness to the body, you can break this repetitive loop and have more fluid/open-minded communication with others. 

- Most people tend to lay down in the same way every night. By experimenting and making slight changes to your sleeping position, you can achieve a better quality of sleep. 

- You might find yourself feeling the same emotions towards a specific person or in specific situations: being mad again, being shy again, being nervous again, etc. Being attentive to the body, you can stop these automatic emotions and suddenly feel differently.  

As these examples illustrate, we don’t have to be caught in this kind of cage that limits our perception, our physical functions, our emotions and our needs. We can learn not to be a victim of self-made habits.