When listening to the body is not enough

We are encouraged to listen to our body and to trust our intuition when it comes to choosing food and making big decisions in life. beautifulyogawoman

However, we are rarely told that there is a particular science in listening and interpreting our body’s language. It is not always that simple to hear and interpret the wise voice of our body.

It takes years to master body’s language just as any other language.  There is nothing wrong with you if you can’t understand what your body needs. Our body’s language is not always straightforward. Even after years of practice you won’t always be right in understanding it. 

To give you an example: I am speaking English for about 9 years every day, all day and I still make mistakes.  I have been learning to listen to my body for the past 5 years and I still get confused sometimes.

However, the more you pay attention, the more you practice the more you understand.

In my experience there are times of crystal clarity and wisdom when we can easily interpret cravings correctly, feel the tingling and buzzing in the body acutely and know what it means, and use out intuition to predict things.

However, there are also times when things become foggy, conclusions ungrounded, and intuition fools us.

Here are a few particular situations when ‘feeling’ things and listening to the body might not be enough:

  • You have an issue that you have never experienced before. Ex: If you got a food poisoning for the first time, you might be better off going through well known and medically approved steps, not trying to figure things out on your own. If you are just learning about your hormones, it makes sense to get some advise before free-styling.
  • When your diet is not a perfect whole foods diet. Our body craves what it knows. If all it knows is frozen meals and cookies, it won’t suddenly crave dandelions. When your body knows only couch and tv as a way to relax, it is not like to ask for an oil massage. If you have been off a clean whole foods diet for a while and have strong sugar cravings, the likelihood of your body REALLY needing sugar is tiny. This is not your wise body asking for sugar, it is an addiction.
  • If you feel stressed and overwhelmed. We need to be relaxed and not in a rush to connect to the wisdom inside and to hear our body’s voice. Running around, being overly active, and not taking time for yourself, will bring your awareness to the outside word and away from the internal world. Take a moment to refocus, rest, and relax.

Here is what to do to hear and understand your body’s intuition better:

  • Start a regular meditation practice. Aim for 1 minute a day to begin with.
  • Get quiet and do nothing at least 5 minutes a day, preferably at the same time.
  • Pose questions to your body and listen. If answers come up, great! If not, just hold the space until they do. It might take awhile in the beginning. There is no rush. Your intention to listen is what matters. Good questions to start with: How can I support you? What do you need to feel better? What is it that you really need right now?
  • Pay attention to recurrent ideas and thoughts. Notice and draw conclusions. Sometimes we move so fast that we don’t leave any time for reflection. Reflection is a unique ability that only humans have. Use it to its full power!

In the times of confusion guidelines from people who walked a path similar to yours, who struggled with the same issues are invaluable. Take them as an experiment and see if it works for you. It goes for foods, self care practices, therapies. Honor your body and its voice. Aim to combine the external and internal wisdom in your daily life.

If you struggle with understanding your body but at the same time tired of putting yourself in a box of restrictive diets, I would be honored to support you in your journey of making friends with your body. You can learn more about working with me and apply here.

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