Embrace Your Body Signals

by Marlena Fields

If you are anything like me, you encourage your clients to take care of themselves, be self-nurturing, strive for balance, celebrate their wins, put themselves first, have a fulfilling life…and the list goes on.

And, if you are also like me, you may not be listening to your own wisdom. I have definitely had that experience lately. For the past month I have had a bad cold – it would get better for a couple of days and whammo! I would be into relapse again.

My body was trying to tell me something and I wanted to step over the message. Why? Because I was busy, didn’t have time, people were depending on me, had deadlines to meet, clients to coach, classes to teach…you get the picture. Does that sound familiar for you too?

In my book I have a chapter called Embracing the Signal. It is about having an attitude of gratitude that our body is in fact communicating something important to us. Rather than wish our pain or discomfort would stop, it involves being curious and mindful about the message. It’s an attitude that says to our body, “I am listening. Thanks for signaling me to pay attention: to be mindful.”

As an example, when you are really stressed and out of control, your shoulders may typically become very stiff and sore. Rather than being angry with your shoulders, another perspective could be to be thankful that they are giving you a warning signal to calm down and find a way to relax for a while. By pausing long enough to roll your shoulders, give them a rub, or simply stand up and look out the window, you would be looking after your physical and your emotional well-being.

Now, let’s use my personal example of a cold. Rather than being annoyed that I have one, I finally stopped to listen and become curious. I took time to become mindful, to honor and respond to my body’s wisdom; to be grateful for the warning signal to slow down and practice some self-care; to look after my physical and emotional well-being. Failure to do so, for any of us, can create a negative impact on a much larger scale.

I have listened to and embraced my body’s wisdom. And, as soon as I did so, I began to feel better and less-stressed. At the end of next week, I am taking myself on a solo-retreat to a resort a few hours from home. And guess what? From a rejuvenated perspective, life will look, feel and be different – thanks to me taking care of my body, mind and spirit.

What signals have you been stepping over? How is your body asking you to pay attention? Become still and listen to your inner guidance. What are you being called to notice and experience?

Self-care is self-love.

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Marlena Field, PCC, CPCC, founder and author of Body-Centered Coaching, offers a free e-newsletter titled BodyMind Wisdom: listen to your body, connect with your spirit. When you subscribe, you will receive her free audio titled “Conscious Choices for Change”.

Visit www.BodyMindSpiritCoaching.com