Sometimes we like to question our intelligent bodies and tell them they’re wrong, suppressing everything. Then, when discomfort arises, it can also have an emotional impact and if it comes at a time when we feel like it’s inconvenient to deal with, we find it easier to push the emotions back down and cover them up. If emotions are suppressed because we don’t have time or a safe space to deal with them, they can be stored in the body as a source of stress.
We’re all familiar with the saying “harden up” but is this saying doing more harm than intended?
I believe our body is constantly communicating with us to give us information about our environment so that we can adapt. That the body has an innate capacity to heal itself, given the right conditions.
A pill is taken to make a headache go away, or anti-inflammatories so that you can run through an injury. In the short term this can help, but you’re simply telling your body to “shut-up”.
If you keep pushing and ignoring what your body tells you, it will keep giving you louder and louder signals. Finally, you may end up being forced to listen, by suffering severe illness or major injury.
The process can begin right now, at home:
Take a minute to pay attention to how your body feels. Are your energy levels high? Your body strong? Or are you feeling exhausted? Constantly fighting a cold? Frequent headaches? Sore shoulders, or a stiff lower back? Not recovering from injury?
Not enough time in the day? Can’t stop your mind from racing? Maybe you dislike your job or you’re unhappy in your relationship?
Have you ever made the connection that maybe you feel run down because you say yes to everything, or you have a sore throat because you’re not speaking up and standing up for yourself? Your shoulders may be sore because you feel like you have an overwhelming sense of responsibility, a stiff lower back because you don’t enjoy your job and you’re stressed about your finances, or hip discomfort because you’re a mum who does everything plus more and doesn’t feel supported.
There are many people that feel like they’ve been through all the tests and specialists but they’re not given a diagnosis and they still have the same issues. Even worse, they’ve been told to live with their discomfort.
Often they know the discomfort they experience is more than just a physical problem and they’re desperate to find a solution. These people do get better.
The emotions we experience through events in our life help shape how we see the world. When they first present they’re often not harmful, and at this time it’s important to simply acknowledge them, and express them before they escalate to a point which causes harm. It can be challenging but through this discomfort comes growth.
Our bodies are constantly seeking balance and finding balance often involves remembering ‘why’ you are doing what you do. In the midst of stress we can sometimes forget what we’re actually trying to achieve.
I would suggest giving yourself permission to slow down, experience and express emotions as they come and go. Be aware of what your body is telling you without the need to intellectualise it. It’s intelligent and knows what to do if you allow it.
To make a small change and have a big impact I recommend thinking about one thing that you love to do, that you used to always make time for. Something that makes you smile. Make a commitment that in the next week, you will make time to do this for yourself.
We have many lives, and this lifetime is your time to find and express your purpose, so listen to your body and find your balance, and be the person you were destined to be.
I have found that many health and wellness practitioners and clients are fascinated with psychosomatic therapy. They want to embrace this knowledge, but don’t know how. I decided that alongside my private clinics I want to reach more people. I want to be able to share my knowledge, to up skill our therapists and community to offer more detailed information about understanding what the body is telling us – the art of listening to your body. I want people to become more emotionally aware, for therapists to understand how to provide a safe space for emotional expression and their reactions and to provide a truly holistic approach.
If health and wellness practitioners want to take this to the next level and create a business based on values and their unique gifts, I’m there to support them with how to do this too.
I have developed a website called www.theartoflisteningtoyourbody.com with training and coaching for those in the health and wellness industry to learn more about how to integrate this approach into their own therapy. Subscribe to my podcast The Art Of Listening To Your Body for insights, real-life pain to revelation stories and mind-body education.
Join their Facebook Page and FREE Facebook Community HERE or head on over to their website and grab your Discover Your Core Values training. This is the starting block to reducing overwhelm and putting decisions through your filter.
