Listen Up!
To say the human body is spectacular is truly an understatement! She’s this miraculous being that is our home, that allows us to do amazing things, and to be the barrier that separates “me” from “you”. But what else does the human body do that I find simply mesmerizing? She has the extraordinary ability to heal herself!
However, there’s a huge caveat to this. You must learn to listen! Usually, all this healing is done behind the scenes. If you drink too much while out with friends, your body works tirelessly through the night to get the alcohol out of your system as quickly as possible. If a cell begins to mutate, the body has processes in place to eliminate that cell before it replicates and becomes a problem (turns into a tumor). If you are stranded somewhere without food, your body will start pulling from her energy stores to survive. She’s a smart cookie!
But sometimes, the body needs some help and tries to take her actions to the front lines. Those digestive issues that pop up after you eat gluten? She’s telling you to stop eating gluten. Chest pain after you eat certain foods? She’s telling you to stop eating those foods. A lot of times, unfortunately, we ignore those signs. Maybe we don’t want to hear it (Give up wings and beer? No thank you!) but more often than not, I believe, we just don’t hear her. The communication gets lost or jumbled somehow.
Chest pain and digestive issues may be more obvious signs that something is wrong in many cases. But there are so many other subtle signs that may be overlooked. Tired all the time? Messed up periods? Trouble sleeping? Dry skin? Acne? Headaches? Those are pretty good indicators your body is trying to tell you something. That “something” she’s trying to say may be a simple fix, like get some rest or drink some water. Or, it may be something big, like an autoimmune disease or other illness.
It may be scary to think about, but the earlier an illness is identified, the better the chances are for a good outcome. The goal here is really to stop issues before they turn into a worst-case scenario. Before I developed a sensitivity to gluten, I could identify every stomachache, that’s how in-tune I was with my digestive system. I could tell you if it was an upset tummy from eating dairy, too much stress, or PMS. Things changed when stress took over my life and I stopped listening.
How do you stop all the mumbo-jumbo going on so you can start tuning in? It’s tough! Modern-day life has made this difficult! Many of us are hopped up on sugar or caffeine most of the day then use alcohol to “relax” in front of the tv in the evening. All those things can really mess with your body’s communication systems!
One thing that I work on with many clients is tuning in to their feelings. Before you think woo-woo feelings, I mean more of the physical things your body experiences, but emotional feelings are very telling too. I encourage clients to keep a food and activity journal for a week. I ask them to record everything (and I mean everything!) such as food, physical activity, sleep, bathroom habits, stress levels, ect. and then record how their body reacts. This helps us to identify where things may be going a little cray-cray. Usually, simple tweaks can make a huge difference!
The reality is that we all just want to be healthy and happy. The first step towards that goal is always getting to know your body and learning to listen to what she’s sayin’! After all, your body has gotten you this far in life, there’s a pretty good chance that happened from more than just luck! So start listening!
Peace, love & kale!
Lindsay