Listening to the Body
By: Dr. Denise Renye
Last week I wrote about the power of letting go via saying things out loud. I ended the post asking you to notice how you feel in your body right in this moment. I wondered if any areas of the body might be whispering or more loudly speaking than others, or perhaps might be asking for your attention.
Sometimes bodies speak quietly, like through a whisper. And sometimes we miss that whisper and then our bodies speak more loudly, such as through a cold or an illness even. When we dis-associate from the body, the body’s inner wisdom has a way of bringing us back. Sometimes we know our bodies are speaking to us, but we don’t understand the message! It may be hard to decipher the messages from the body as they are encoded in such ways that require some quieting, slowing, or curiosity. It can be as if the body is speaking in an unfamiliar language. Or, perhaps, we don’t want to understand the message. The body could be saying “rest” but we are resistant to resting as it may be scary for us, or we feel too busy with our obligations to carve out time to rest. Plus there are certainly no shortages of societal messages of how our bodies “should” be that can cause us to ignore the messages our bodies are sending from the inside.
We are bombarded with many different regimens, diets, and rigid ways of “helping” our bodies through this lifetime. We can always follow this diet, that fad, this method…there’s no shortage of any of those. And now that the U.S. at least is coming out of the pandemic, the weight-loss industry is coming for our post-lockdown bodies, as author Jennifer Weiner noted in a New York Times editorial.
She writes, “After everything we’ve endured — and as the crisis still rages around the world — each of us should cherish the body that got us through it, rather than punish it for failing to fit into last year’s skinny jeans.”
However, that is in fact what many are doing. Will Smith (Philly represent!) posted on Instagram on the one hand he was grateful for the body that got him through the pandemic, but on the other, join him in his weight-loss journey. He’s sharing his workout videos and posting about his progress. And he’s not alone. Many people feel anxiety as they enter into the world again and are visible beyond a computer screen. Perhaps they look differently than they did before the pandemic and they’re nervous about being seen for who they are and what they look like now.
That’s not to say diets and workout regimens aren’t helpful. They are for some people. Those diets and programs may be exactly what the body craves – more movement, more veggies, more water, etc. But for others, that may not be what the body craves. How do you know if you’re not listening?
Body movement is important and it doesn’t always have to come in the form of working out in a traditional fashion. Listening to the body, from the inside, and learning how it likes to move is a skill that takes practice. (To read more about this, check out my series on accessing the unconscious through the body.) Doing cardio is important and mindfully moving is as well. Explore options such as yoga or tai chi to complement other forms of movement. Consider the art of swimming as a sensual way to move the body and feel the water hug your skin as you move. Consider dancing as you move feeling the air in your hair and around you. Much can be stored in the body. Please be gentle with yourself if you are navigating the sometimes rough terrain of healing trauma.
My invitation is that you quiet the mind enough to listen to the body. Not to “do” but to be. To partner with yourself, your body, your mind, your soul and hear what you need. Not what you think you need but what you really need. It can be so challenging but also so rewarding.
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Reference
Weiner, Jennifer. “The Weight-Loss Industry Is Coming for Our Post-Lockdown Bodies.” The New York Times. May 5, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/opinion/culture/dieting-covid-weight-loss.html