Tuning Into Your Body’s Messages
What do you mean “listen to my body????” While our bodies do not speak with words (most of the time), they are constantly communicating with us. Like in any healthy relationship, we must slow down, tune in, listen, and be in conversation with our bodies every day. Many of you may be meeting for the first time, and with that comes introduction, learning, and building trust through experiences, observations, promise keeping, and simply spending time together.
Take a moment now. Inhale for 4 seconds. Hold your inhale for 4 seconds. Exhale for 4 seconds.
Begin by introducing yourself to your body. “Hi body. It’s me. We’ve been close to each other for a long time, but I’ve never stopped to acknowledge you. I hope we can get to know each other better.” Take a minute or 2 to speak to your body. Let it know you’re here to learn and listen, and whatever else is important for your body to know.
That might have felt super weird. Meeting someone for the first time (or even first few times) can be awkward and uncertain, and this is a space to keep rolling with the awkward. I think that means you’re in a position to grow ;)
Now, it’s just you and your body. If you’re in a safe space to keep connecting, continue, and if not, save this to come back to it later. What is something you would like to tell your body? You can be totally honest here. That’s the only way to build trust.
Here are a few questions that can guide you with what to say:
-What has kept you from being connected to your body (busyness, betrayal, harm, social messages, performance, ect) ?
-What feelings arise when you think about your body and what stories are connected to each feeling?
-How do you hope to relate to your body in 5 years from now? Even if it feels mystical and ridiculous, go ahead and let your body know what you’re thinking right now.
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As you went through that exercise, did you notice any sensations in your body? Any tightening of your shoulder, a relieving exhale, a tingle, eye twitch, or tightness in your throat? That is your body communicating with you.
When you are in the constant practice of tuning into the messages from your body, you will realize that they are always there. The work here is to 1. Pay attention, 2. Listen, 3. Translate, 4. Decide what to do with the message, and 5. Repeat forever and ever. These 5 steps could take 1 second or many years, and you get to decide where you’d like to go.
When a message points to an unhealed story, you might decide to take years to unpack that story (possibly with the support of a licensed therapist or healer) and take actions to heal. Some examples of actions could be setting or shifting boundaries, quitting something harmful, starting something meaningful, adding a new ritual to your life, and anything in between. A different option is to listen to your body, translate the message (the story, wound, memory, belief), and decide to let it go. In both cases you are tuning into your body, building trust by showing that you are there, you are listening to what is being communicated, and you are making a choice that is conscious. This is the work of listening to your body.
As we go deeper into tuning into the messages in our bodies, I will break down each step and offer tools that have worked for me along with different resources to explore so that you can find the right fit for you.
Now that you have met your body here (or maybe you’ve met, again), you can tune in, wish it good morning and goodnight. Set an alarm in your day to take 1 minute to tune in again. Notice what sensations are there in your body. Do nothing but notice this information. And continue your day…
Thank you for tuning in with me! (and go ahead and thank yourself too!!)
