Listening to your body is helping you be more aligned with who you are, what you’re going through, and how to navigate life in the best possible way.
Listening to Your Body
We hear all the time that we should listen to our bodies and everything will be fine. I mean, I’m all for it, but when you don’t know where to start, it’s like me telling you to be happy and everything will be right with the world.
Your body is very much a living thing that is so much more complex than we imagine. Science is constantly finding things out about the connexions between the brain and the gut, the immune system and the risks for Alzheimers, chronic disease and your risks of developing cancer. I could go on and on.
But what I want to emphasise on, is that your body is sending you signals all the time. Acne cropping up after a few heavily processed meals? Getting a cold just after an intense period of work? Gaining weight when you are stressed and not getting enough sleep?
Your body is a well-oiled machine that is thriving to keep you healthy and alive. Ever wondered how your heart beat without even thinking about it? Why your arm will scab if you have a wound? Why your pupils will dilate when the light goes off? How your body temperature increases and the fever fights your cold and microbes?
Again, the list could go on. Observing the symptoms that you know are not normal is the path to greater health because awareness is key to start taking action. All these clues that your body gives you, the headaches, the back pain, the chronic disease, the cravings. All are a result of an imbalance in your body.
And it’s not fatal ! You can do something about it. The first step is becoming aware of it. Being aware of the fact that being in pain is not normal, that cravings are a message from your body. Listening to your body is going to be the best act of self care you can take towards your wellbeing.
Letting Go
Once you have gained awareness around what leaves you out of balance, you will need to find what you can let go of. Ask yourselves these questions:
- What do I need to let go of, what is no longer serving me?
- How are my relationships nourishing me?
- Is my job serving my purpose?
- Do I move my body in a loving way to become more flexible, stronger, younger, or rather to punish it, to change it?
- Do I feel loved?
- Do I feel worthy of attention, of joy?
- Do I know what happiness feels like?
- What do I need right now?
When you are going through these questions, do so in a very honest and emphatic way. The aim is to see how your life is serving you, and where it is falling short of your expectations.
Be very accepting that your needs change over time. Sometimes, it feels like we are very different from the person we used to be a few years ago. And that’s normal, remember that our tastebuds renew every two weeks, that our skin regenerates in a month, that our whole bodies recreate themselves every 7 years ! You go through physiological changes all throughout your life and your needs evolve constantly.
What worked for you a few months or years ago might not feel right anymore. The way you used to look may be different today than 10 years ago and that’s ok. To be honest, I feel so much better now than I ever have. And I hope it will be the same in 10 years.
When people say you haven’t changed, I want to reply “then you didn’t know me very well back then”. Sometimes it’s ok to let go of who you were if you are happy now.
If you’re not, let go of what holds you back, review the questions above and see where you can improve and what needs more focus.
Be Happy
I recently listened to a podcast with Rangna Chaterjee where he talks about his latest book “Happy Mind, Happy Life”. According to him, happiness is found in three core pillars: alignment, contentment and control.
Alignment here is making the person that you are and your core values, the same as the person you show to the world. Making how you are at work, with your friends, and all the “hats” that you wear during the day, one and unique person.
Contentment is the activities that you do during the day that give a feeling of peace and satisfaction. Things that bring you joy.
And you have to understand control as how you perceive and react to the events around you. Keeping control over what you CAN control, and not letting external events affect your mood and feelings.
In order to make these core pillars yours, in order to integrate them and to build your happiness, you have to know what your thoughts are doing to you. Are you being kind to yourself, are you aware of what you truly desire, what triggers you, what provokes behaviours?
Once you find peace within you and your life, once you find yourself listening to your body, to your needs, to your dreams, you can find happiness.
Listen to Your Body and Improve Your Wellbeing
When you start paying attention to what your body is telling you, you increase your potential infinitely, When you increase your awareness of what fills you with joy, what hinders your ambitions, what physically prevents you from feeling full of energy, you can take action and slowly improve your life.
Gaining awareness in your life is the first step to a greater life, and I hope you can start building that fabulousness now.
Let me know in the comments which question(s) resonated with you.
To stay in tune with your body and nature, read on for Why We Should Eat Seasonal Foods.
