Our bodies and minds are incredible at letting us know what’s happening. They tell us when we’re hungry or cold, when we are in danger or in a place of safety. We are getting messages all of the time, so much so that a lot of what we learn from our bodies is taken for granted. Here’s an example. You wake up in the morning and go into the kitchen to make breakfast. Last night you had decided that you would have eggs and a piece of multigrain toast, but in the morning light you find yourself pulling the yogurt out of the fridge and grabbing some granola and fruit to go with it.
What happened? First, when you woke up, your body told you that you were hungry. We know that we eat breakfast in the morning so we don’t really think about it, but there are messages being sent telling us that we’re hungry and we need some fuel to get our day started. What about the shift from eggs to yogurt? Your body is telling you what it needs. It’s pretty amazing that it can do this, but there’s an important piece here – you have to be able to listen to your body.
Your body could have woken up wanting yogurt, granola, and fruit, but if you weren’t in tune with yourself, you might override that by your plan for eggs and toast. This is just one example of why it’s so important to listen to our bodies, and to be a really good listener we need to cultivate inner awareness.
It would be really easy to let someone else tell us what to do through every step of the day. I used to do this. I’d ask someone else – what should I wear? What should I eat? Should I do this or that first today? You know what would happen? Someone would tell me which of the two choices to wear and I’d say, no, I think I’ll wear the other skirt today. Why? Because I am the only one who knows what is going to work best for me in these situations. I know what clothes I’ll be most comfortable wearing in certain situations. I know what foods will give me energy or comfort. I know what activities will make me feel productive or drained. I’ve come to know this by listening to myself.
It’s all an experiment. You try different things throughout your day, throughout your life, and you make mental notes about how they make you feel. You will find that as you cultivate inner awareness, as you learn to listen to yourself and value yourself, that understanding what the best course of action is will come easier. It would great if I could help everyone shift to a healthier lifestyle by simply saying what many have said before: drink water, eat real whole foods, cut down on processed foods, integrate movement into your life, find balance in your relationships, make time for yourself and connect to the bigger picture that we’re all part of. That’s it. That’s what you have to do and I promise that you’ll feel better, have more energy, and be happier, healthier and more productive. But it’s not that easy is it? Those shifts are tricky to make if we aren’t able to listen to ourselves and to find support as we try.
Are you ready? Let’s chat and see if I can offer the support you’re looking for.
