Would you know if your body was desperately trying to get your attention?
When we’re feeling well, living in our bodies feels easy. We may not notice how good we are feeling when everything is in balance. We tend to take our wellness for granted.
But what about the times when our bodies are suffering? Maybe it’s a backache, a lingering migraine, or an upset stomach.
How do you respond when your body is unwell?
Some of us go into “fix it” mode and address the surface-level issue. At other times, we accept our discomfort as “normal” because we have bought into the belief that the trajectory of our health and well-being is beyond our control.
From a holistic health perspective, our bodies are a single, interconnected system. Dis-ease or upset in one area of the body is indicative of a systemic imbalance between mind, body, and spirit.
The body tries so hard to get our attention, and then we try so hard to ignore the breakdown!
We medicate or push through the discomfort for as long as possible, until we can barely stand living within our own human container anymore.
What would happen if we remained still long enough to experience our discomfort?
What if we no longer judged our suffering as good or bad, and simply noticed its presence and paid more attention to it? What if the answers for how to heal can be found in our body’s signals?
The specific parts of ourselves that are unwell are trying to tell us something.
What might we learn if we slowed down long enough to listen?
I recently experienced a profound awakening upon exploring the roots of my own physical discomfort. Admittedly, my discomfort had reached nearly intolerable levels before I thought to try this healing exercise!
That said, I’m grateful that my intuition (eventually) led me to it.
I’d been experiencing an annoying tightness between my shoulder blades, along with clenching my jaw. I was becoming irritable with myself and others. The dis-ease had my attention, and the more I fought to control it, the more it persisted.
It was bedtime and my upper back was in a knot. Unexpectedly, I heard myself say, “Talk to the knot,” which I refer to as Pinch.
I asked Pinch, “What is it that you need me to know?”
To my surprise, Pinch had a lot to say. Unbeknownst to my conscious mind, I had been suppressing a lot of feelings related to next steps in my business.
But once I let Pinch talk, the knot released!
By asking for what I needed, my body was able to fully process hidden negative emotions.
Suppressing my emotions had led to shame over the inability to control my negative thoughts. I wanted to feel more self-assured in those moments. But forcing positive thoughts (while avoiding the negative ones) wasn’t the answer.
Once I accepted these thoughts from a place of neutrality, peace and ease were available to me. And I am stronger from the experience.
We can learn so much when we become students of ourselves.
Our pain and distress are always available for examination. What can we learn by listening?
When we start to listen, we open the door to heal at all levels.
What might you learn in conversation with yourself?
Slow down. Make the inquiry. Listen closely.
Strengthening our intuition together,
Christine
P.S.—Are you feeling stuck with changing your wellness trajectory?
As a holistic health coach, I help you see your blind spots and help create your personal freedom to change.
Contact me to see if coaching is the right step for you.
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