3 Ways to Listen to Your Body (So it won't need to shout)
It started with a stabbing pain behind my left shoulder blade.
I had two young children. My husband was a physician who was rarely home. I had a life that appeared beautiful and easy. All the while, I was isolated, lonely, exhausted and full of self-recrimination.
The pain would sometimes get so bad that I couldn't take a deep breath.
I'd be forced to sit down, but only for a moment. Impatience and frustration at my body's refusal to play along with my driving to-do list boiled. I'd push through again. Eventually, the pain would grow dull again.
But it was never far. It lingered, hung at the edges, always nagging, like a child saying "mom, mommy, mom, mommy" tugging at my sleeve, until I finally said, "What? What do you want?"
But I never waited long enough to really hear the answer. Because I was terrified of what my body might be saying to me.
Until one day, I had to…
Has your body been trying to tell you something that you've been ignoring or silencing with numbing behaviors?
It took me a very long time to listen.
The next time the pain flared up, I sat down and kindly asked myself: "What's going on, Susan?"
I asked the way I'd ask one of my children if they were not feeling well.
No answer came. But something shifted.
Maybe it was just giving myself a mindful moment. Maybe it was the kind tone I used.
But little by little, the pain became less frequent and shorter lived.
One day, I realized that I didn’t have to live with pain and discomfort.
Neither do you.
Here are some ways to stop pain before it starts:
Stop. Sit down. Breathe.
Ask. "What's going on? What do I need?"
Do. This often means STOP DOING. Heed the call for what you need.
If you think that slowing down is not an option, consider this: If we don't stop, listen, and heed what our bodies are telling us, the pain or illness will get louder and louder, until it's all we can hear.
The body always wins.
What's yours telling you?