If there's one major problem I recognize when I talk to people in practice, teaching, or at conferences, it's that so many of us don't recognize how brilliant the human body is. At the first sign of breakdown or upset we remark how our body is letting us down. It doesn't work the way it used to and must be destined for failure. Not only do I find this somewhat disheartening, I also think it's wrong.
Consider some of these facts about your body:
If we learn to instead recognize its genius and listen to its messages we access a new world of information and insight into living happy and healthy. This can take some work since many of us have learned to avoid these messages. They are often subtle and nuanced. They also come FROM the body and aren't always contained in our heads. It may be your stomach quietly urging to avoid the donut, your muscles and joints asking for a 20 minute walk, or your mind telling you to stop working and play with your kids.
The fact is....your body knows best what you need. Tune into it and you suddenly have all the information at your disposal to create wellness and vitality. Sure it takes some time and listening and probably even some mis-steps. But even mistakes are information. In fact mistakes are often how we learn best. So what's your body telling you?
Consider some of these facts about your body:
- It is made of approximately 50 trillion cells (that's 12 zeros, I liked it up) all working together to make you healthy, happy, and wise.
- Without you even being aware of it, your muscles, kidneys, intestines, lungs, heart, and countless other tissues provide moment to moment balance that keeps you awake, energetic, attentive, and upright.
- Every bite of food you take is broken down and recognized by your gut where it is absorbed and turned into skin, eyes, teeth, nails, hair, muscles, and more.
- A single deep breath relaxes every cell from the ends of your hair to the tips of your toes.
- The alveoli in your lungs would be the size of a full tennis court if we flattened and spread them out. Your eyes have more molecules and atoms then there are known stars in all the universes and galaxies combined.
If we learn to instead recognize its genius and listen to its messages we access a new world of information and insight into living happy and healthy. This can take some work since many of us have learned to avoid these messages. They are often subtle and nuanced. They also come FROM the body and aren't always contained in our heads. It may be your stomach quietly urging to avoid the donut, your muscles and joints asking for a 20 minute walk, or your mind telling you to stop working and play with your kids.
The fact is....your body knows best what you need. Tune into it and you suddenly have all the information at your disposal to create wellness and vitality. Sure it takes some time and listening and probably even some mis-steps. But even mistakes are information. In fact mistakes are often how we learn best. So what's your body telling you?
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