How Learning To Listen To Your Body Can Change Your Life

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Do you consider yourself truly healthy? If you’re exercising regularly, eating well most of the time, and learning how to manage stress, you may feel that you’re on top of things. But could it be that you aren’t listening to your body? The key to true wealth and wellbeing lies in really knowing what our bodies are signalling to us. So how on Earth do we learn to listen?

Create a Daily Body Note

Sometimes, the key to understanding our bodies cues is simply to make a conscious effort to listen. It may be unfamiliar ground at first, but the more you practise it, the better you will get at noticing changes and picking up on things. So make time before you get into bed each day to give yourself a daily body note. Ask questions such as what you did that day to care for yourself – a workout, going to bed early, drinking eight glasses of water? Keep track of your energy levels – how do they fluctuate? What are you thankful for that your body has done? Just get into the habit of taking five minutes to tune in.

Fuel Up and Be Present

One huge factor here is being fully present when you eat. Eating is one of the main connection points we have with our bodies throughout the day – but how often do you munch a sandwich hunched over your desk while emailing, or snatch a dinner in front of the TV? If we don’t pay attention when we eat, not only do we tend to eat more than we really need, but we don’t always understand if our hunger is physical or emotional. Nourishing our bodies and the food choices we make needs to be a conscious decision, and then it becomes easier to understand what our bodies need.

Learn About Intuition

Intuition is a skill that we all possess, but that some of us gradually learn to ignore. We override our gut feelings but telling ourselves that they aren’t rational- but by doing this, we could be denying ourselves hugely valuable insights and avoiding negative consequences. We can get caught in the overthinking trap – analysis paralysis, where we can’t act for weighing up the potential impact. Intuition is innately connected to what we need, so decisions that we take without thinking too much are often the best for us.

Respect Your Warning Signals

Our bodies are actually pretty brilliant at letting us know when the pressure is building, but often we are conditioned to ignore it- in fact, not listening to warning signals is almost celebrated, as we indulge in competitive over working and over exercising. A cold that you just can’t shake, feeling low all the time, problems sleeping, mood swings, and headaches can all be signs that we aren’t giving our bodies something they need. Paying attention to these signs, and taking corrective action such as Physiotherapy is key to preventing injury and illness. A little caution at this stage can be all that’s needed, but if we choose to push on regardless, that’s when we risk endangering our health and leading to longer recovery periods.