As a professional coaching people into their bodies and helping to bring the mind and the body together, I help others to realize that the body does not have the capability to lie. The mind can lie and frequently does. We tell ourselves stories to try to make ourselves feel better, but we also tell ourselves stories that make us feel awful. We default to the brain rather than the body and it takes a toll.
Our bodies send the brain signals constantly, reporting in about what is going on in different areas. For example, as I write this, my finger tips are cool, my shoulders are a bit tight, I can feel my weight sinking into the cushion of the chair beneath me, and my toes are snug in the fuzzy insole of my slippers. But, as we are moving through our day, we ignore a great deal of what the body tells us. And as long as the system is functioning as it should, we don’t necessarily need to pay attention to every single thing that is being reported on. So, we selectively listen and we turn our attention to other things like planning our day, driving a car, giving a presentation, etc.
The problem is that we turn the selective listening into ignoring what the body is reporting on a regular basis. We begin to trust the brain over the body and we talk ourselves out of believing what the body is telling us. We even tell ourselves that it won’t make a difference if we ignore the body this one time. But it makes a big difference when we do this over and over.
We find ourselves doing things like ignoring the signals in the evening that we are tired and should go to sleep. We ignore the message that we have eaten enough and instead we have another portion. We ignore the digestive distress signals that we are eating the wrong foods at the wrong time. We ignore the fact that the body holds on to memories and stress and trauma. And on and on it goes.
Over time, ignoring what the body is asking for leads to bigger problems. The language of the body is sensations and symptoms. The brain loves the comfort zone of not changing, so we tell ourselves that we feel “fine” and we can find ourselves facing issues like inability to concentrate, insomnia, getting sick more frequently, gastrointestinal distress, anxiety, hopelessness, isolation, etc. Then we end up at a doctor saying something like, “All of a sudden, I have a rash and acid reflux and I can’t sleep at night.”
Our bodies cannot make up lies about what is going on or when something needs to change, so it is imperative that we listen. When we ignore it, the issue builds the body has to send a louder signal. Many of the things that we do throughout our day are taking us further out of sync with how are bodies were created to function.
Setting up our daily routine to meet our own bodies needs rather than what everyone else is doing or what our out of sync society says is ‘normal’ is the wisest thing we can do. And in getting ourselves back in rhythm with our nature, we will free up energy to better perform in all areas of our lives. Making small shifts in things like what time we are going to bed, when we are eating our biggest meal, how much time we spend on our devices, our bedtime routines, moving our bodies and quieting our minds will make a huge difference.
If we can tune in and work with our bodies rather than against them, we can feel our best- maybe better than we have in years. Small, repeated changes lead to big results. Find a partner or a group of people who also want to feel better so that you aren’t alone in the journey back to health. Learn more about honoring your circadian rhythm. Hit me up and we can chat about changes that could help you.
Start right now by taking a few long slow breaths and listening to what your body is saying in this moment.
I will be listening to my body right along with you.
Chat again soon,
k