It's lunchtime and I have listened well enough to my body to know that I am hungry. I start fantasizing about the different lunches available to me. I could have a tortilla with turkey and cheese and avocado. I could have a salad with turkey and avocado. I have a gluten-free pizza in the freezer or I could see if there are any leftovers in the fridge.
I suddenly stop and realize that I have not asked my BODY what it wants and needs!!!! In all the work that I teach, I talk about listening to your body, treating it as a partner with whom you are in relationship. I talk about the process of give and take, seeing what you want, seeing what the body wants, and then finding a way to make it win/win for both. But I HAVEN'T DONE THAT! I haven't listened and soon realize that I don't WANT to listen!! I don't want to take the time to ask my body what it wants and don't want to find out what it is anyway, as I want to eat what I want to eat regardless of what my body tells me.
Twenty years of experience (and some shame as I teach this work!) tells me that not listening to my body's needs can often result in much suffering. I will overeat, undereat, not meet my body's nutritional requirements and end up exhausted, will obsess, overthink, and so on...So I need to challenge myself and take the time and space to listen.
I get quiet and close my eyes and ask my body what it needs. At first, I get nothing not necessarily because it's not speaking but because I clearly don't want to know so I am blocking any information that might be coming my way. I ask again, this time, trying to actually genuinely listen. Nothing again. I feel my hunger but that's about it. Again, I check to see if I am really listening and realize that I am still not. Aarrgghhh. Finally, I connect to how my body is FEELING, in the present. Is it grounded or ungrounded? Does it need fast energy? Is it feeling lethargic? As I keep asking these questions, an image of my gluten-free tortilla pops into my head and FEELS good. The turkey and cheese also show up as a picture and feel good as well, like my body will truly benefit from them. It's like I'm getting a sensation of how I will feel after eating those foods and my body just feels better. It feels right.
I'm off to eat my lunch. I'm so grateful that the information came from my body and not from my head, as I would have forever doubted if I made the "right" choice (according to my latest mind rules). I will trust my body, check in in an hour or two, and keep refining my listening abilities as I move along this process.
Let me know how you listen to your body!

posted by Isabelle | 1:55 PM