Listening to my body
Two recent events have reminded me of the importance of tuning into what my body is telling me, which is a huge source of wisdom and intuition.
The first involved a teaching opportunity that I agreed to because I really wanted to meet the needs of the person who had contacted me, even though it wasn't ideal for me. That person ended up cancelling, and all I felt was... relief.
The second happened last week. I had blocked off half of my day to work on an upcoming project, but when the day arrived, I was exhausted mentally and physically (and really, really irritable). My first instinct was to push through it and get the work done, thinking it would feel good to make progress on the project. I also thought it might be a good distraction from how horrible I felt.
Instead, I made a conscious decision to stop working, park myself on the sofa, allow myself to feel cranky for a while, and then watch a couple of episodes of my favorite TV show. My husband was able to come and join me, and that time connecting with him was exactly what I needed to get out of my funk. I felt revived and energetic for the rest of the weekend.
In the first instance, I made a professional decision that was out of alignment from what I really wanted, and the relief I felt after the cancellation guided me to change some of my work policies to align with what I *really* want.
In other words, I made changes that felt good in my body, and it felt really empowering.
In the second instance, I was able to catch myself in my old 'just push through it' mentality and truly listen to what would actually be best for me. It was a complete game-changer, and I'm so grateful I gave myself the permission to ask for what I needed.
It's so, so easy to ignore the messages our body is telling us.
We might be disconnected from even perceiving how our emotions feel in our body, we might be too busy to take the time to listen, or we might come up with really good excuses to ignore the messages we're receiving from our body, such as getting work done or meeting someone else's needs.
And... what I've noticed, for me, is that every time I tune in, listen, and truly receive the wisdom my body, my intuition, is sharing with me, I act from a place of strength, empowerment, and alignment. Those decisions always feel good, even if I end up doing something unexpected.
I don't always get it right (like in the first example I shared), but what I'm learning along the way is that it's never too late to start listening.