Your body is talking to you, but are you listening?
Most of us spend most of the time thinking...and thinking and thinking, but often ignoring what our bodies are saying to us. We "live" up in our heads worrying about work, bills, relationships, anxieties about the future, re-playing the past. In doing so, we pay very little attention to our bodies and we miss out on a lot of important information.
Your body is talking to you all the time and your body never lies. We convince ourselves of stories we want to believe ("I don't mind", "It will get better", "It's not my fault", "I can't tell him/her how I feel") and we may do a really good job of that; but your body won't let you get away with it. If you stop and pay attention to what you're feeling physically you will notice that your body is sending you messages:
Are there certain people or situations which always seem to give you a headache, or a stomach ache?
Are there others that always bring a smile to your face, give you energy and maybe even take away a headache?
Is your body waking you up during the night trying to tell you something?
Try a little experiment with me right now.
Without changing anything in your posture or body, take a quick inventory and notice any spots of tension. Is your jaw clenched? Is your chest tight? How is your breathing? Is it smooth and deep, or is it shallow? How is your gut? Is it relaxed or does it burn or hurt? Is your leg bouncing, or are your fingers tapping?
Without any judgement, check in with any of these parts of yourself and imagine it is able to speak to you...what is it saying?
There are many reasons why we don't listen to our bodies. Maybe we were never taught to listen; or perhaps we don't want to listen...we may be afraid of what we will learn. But ignorance is rarely a comforting place. I encourage you to learn to listen to your body as it can be a valuable road towards greater peace and happiness.
Here are some ways to learn this skill:
Therapy with a clinician skilled in this type of work,
Yoga, Tai Chi, or any sort of body-mind oriented activity or exercise
Meditation
Massage, accupuncture, chiropractic
