How To Listen To Your Body

Listening to your body is sound advice given by many healthcare professionals. That is until, it comes time to actually do it. Then comes the questions…how do I listen to my body? How do I interpret what it’s trying to tell me? If you’ve found yourself asking these same questions, I encourage you to read on and get a better understanding of how to be the Boss of your body.

Differentiating External Factors From Intuition

External factors are influences that do not occur from within you but rather, from around you. These include things like work, school and other people. Whereas, intuition is the ability to know something without relying on reason or logic. This is often referred to as our “gut” feeling, our inner voice and our instinct from within.

Bridging The Mind Body Gap

We all have the ability to reason with our instincts, which can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. But the good thing is, we do not have to choose one over the other. We can use any, or all, of the “tools” available to us to help make decisions varying from what to eat for lunch to when to start a new business. Once we learn how to truly hone in on our bodies, it is then that we can differentiate between morality and instinct.

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant”

– Albert Einstein

Evaluate Your Relationship With Your Environment

Use your “simple senses” to describe your surroundings. Identify if you’re hot or cold. What do you hear? What do you smell? Are you standing or laying down? The goal is to simply be aware by relying only on you for the answers. This will help build the foundation to finding and retaining your inner voice.

Be Your Own Biggest Fan

More often than not, we attempt to rationalize our inner voice. Instead, try listening to your ideas with a completely open mind, free from judgement. No criticizing, no ridicule. Allow your heart to fill with the compassion we have for others. We aren’t quick to shut down ideas of others, yet we will shut our own down in an instant. We must learn to be more gentle with ourselves. I have often heard that how we treat ourselves is how others will treat us.

Lose The Noise

Imagine trying to read with a blender on high sitting on the table next to you. Pretty safe to say, you wouldn’t have a clue what you were reading, let alone be able to recall anything. Same principle applies when listening to our body. Be it a comfy chair free from distractions, or outside under your favorite tree. It is important to find a quiet place and associate it with hearing only what your body is telling you.

Focus On Your Breathing

Often when we are anxious or feeling out of control, our breathing gets rapid and shallow. This, in turn, can result in a fast heartbeat, dizziness and/or trembling sweaty hands. This is where focused breathing can be extremely helpful. Purposefully controlling our breathing can give us the “re-wire” our body needs. Plus, with the versatility of breathing exercises, they can be done almost anywhere with results felt almost instantly. Practice breathing in through your nose to the count of four, feeling your belly rise, then slowly exhale through your mouth to the count of four. With each breath you are coaxing your body to slow down and “talk” to you.

Keep A Journal

When our mind is full of random thoughts bouncing around, it is very difficult to zero in and focus on one. By writing them down, no matter how random they may seem, it helps our unconscious mind to open up. Therefore, allowing us a deeper insight to our true thoughts, feelings and ultimately, ourselves. Be sure to journal in detail by jotting down the date, your surroundings and your feelings. Therefore, when you look back and analyze, you will see where adjustments need to be made.

Perform Daily Check Ins

Our bodies are constantly sending us messages. Whether it be hunger pangs or tightness in our neck resulting from our tension headache. The goal is to “check in” with each body section; start with your head, moving down to your neck, shoulders, chest, torso, pelvis and legs. Mentally “scan” each section, paying attention to any sensations you feel and acknowledge what it’s trying to tell you. Often times, what our body is feeling is a result of an underlying issue. For example, our feet are swollen due to the fact that we’ve been up on them for 12 hours. To remedy the situation, we get off of our feet and prop them up. Showing us that if we listen to our bodies, we can “treat” the initial cause and the “side effects” often resolve themselves .

Prioritize Self Care

It is not selfish, laziness or any other absurd word that you’ve hear to describe it. Taking care of yourself is not simply a desire, it is an absolute necessity. Self care helps ensure that you are mentally, emotionally and physically able to tackle that never ending to-do list. Think of it like this; We do not expect our vehicles to last for any length of time, without proper maintenance. Even when flying on a plane, it is suggested that we put our own mask on, before attempting to help others. The groundwork is always the same. We must take the time to relax and rejuvenate. Because, the fact of the matter is, that if we don’t schedule time to relax, our bodies will pick it for us.

Choose Your Battles

Although routines and structure are very important, we should also embrace flexibility. Meaning, there are going to be times when things don’t go as planned and maybe “letting go” is the best option for our well being. I’m not saying abandon for good, but know that it’s ok to modify your workout when you’re tired, order take out when you are simply exhausted or skip making that three course breakfast in lieu of a bowl of cereal. Don’t beat yourself up over what you see as a fail. Instead, look at the big picture and all of your wins!

Take Away

Listening to our bodies and honoring its wishes is one of the truest forms of self-love. It should be intentional and never taken lightly. Our bodies serve us well and our hearts deserve joy, listen when your body whispers.

We’re all in this together, T

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