HOw to listen to your body
Originally written on April 14 2020
Listening to your body sounds nice right? Every self-care guru talks about how great they feel after learning to listen to their body. It sounds like some mythical, elusive, idealistic trait that you’re lucky to have.
But, I don’t think there is luck to it. I think learning to listen to your body is a skill that can be cultivated through mindfulness and movement. I think it takes time to learn this skill but I believe it is an important skill to hone. Over the next couple of posts, I want to break down how to hone those skills.
WHAT DOES LISTENING TO YOUR BODY LOOK LIKE?
Sometimes it looks a lot like this-- moving, shaking, breathing, rolling, stretching, and listening. It’s making movements based on what my body needs next, not what was on the list that you had to do. On other days it's a couple of deep breaths first thing in the morning or closing my eyes and doing a brief body scan while I wait for my water to boil in the AM. On other days, it’s assessing how the walk to the bathroom feels in the morning. It doesn't have to look a certain way as long as you hone your listening skills. When I practice yoga, I use the first 10-15 minutes of my practice to listen to my body, I wiggle and breathe. I notice how the child’s pose feels, down dog, plank. It looks different for everyone and that is the beauty of it.
HOW DO YOU LEARN TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY?
Practice.
It takes time.
You probably didn't want to hear that. The listening journey does take time but there are some practical ways to tune in and learn:
1. Slow down: when you are constantly moving at hyper speed, you don’t really give yourself any time to listen.
2. Take notes: write down how you feel immediately after a workout and then again in a couple of hours and then again the next day. Write down how you felt after eating certain foods or drinking certain drinks. Start to notice what happens to your mind and your body as you change its environment (without becoming too obsessive-- more posts to come on this).
3. Habit/ritual trackers: I work with my clients to help them create habit/ritual trackers that work best for them. My clients track some of the usual culprits: steps and exercises, but they also track things like mood, energy, mindfulness, gratitude, time spent outside, and self-care activities.
4. Roll Out: This will be a whole how-to post (or two) on its own but it’s a fabulous way to get to know your body. I use yoga tune-up balls of all sizes to roll out muscles, notice where things are feeling tight, and move my muscles around. This might be my personal favorite tool to listen to my body because it also feels fantastic.
5. Meditation: Taking 10 minutes out of your day to get quiet with yourself and sit can do wonders for the mind-body connection and learning how to listen to your body. Developing this kind of quiet stillness can take away the outside world while you try tuning in to your body.
6. Movement: Trying new movements, practicing hold movements, walking, running, stretching, and breathing. When you move your body, it gives you information about what is going on. The more you practice old things AND try new things, the more you can learn from your body.
And so much more I am sure I am forgetting at this point. I wanted to share these beginner’s tips on how to learn to listen to your body. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll come back and break down some of the specifics.