I woke up one day last week feeling horrible. I was aching in my hands, my feet, I could almost feel the skin across my rib cage throbbing with an achy inflammation, and my sacrum was in a knot. Was it something I ate, was it ‘punishment’ for having recently talked about my body feeling so much better? Was it because I bragged that I would occasionally have a night without good sleep rather than occasionally having a night with good sleep?
As I sat with my morning tea, I thought “I should listen…do my soul work.” But I didn’t really feel like it. In fact, I hadn’t done it for a few days because…well…when things are going great, I don’t feel a great desire to dig deep…or listen to my soul…or to even be quiet enough to find out if things are o.k. Why bother? Everything’s good!
Until it’s not.
For so much of my life, I’ve ignored my body. I have ignored pain and discomfort, but most importantly, I ignored being tired, fatigue…exhaustion. Always pushing through…always getting the next thing done…always being ‘busy.’
Then, a funny thing happened when I entered empty-nest. I could no longer ignore my body. It was going to have its say.
First, I injured my knee. All my plans to do so many things with my son before he went to college went right out the window. All I could do was 'be.' A beautiful gift, in retrospect, to be with him instead of all that doing. While healing from that, back pain showed up, then reflux. Then exhaustion, loss of libido, feeling sadness and grief about entering empty nest - actually trying to reject those feelings because they seemed so wrong when I was so excited for my son. Quality of sleep? None.
Then I started doing the work of Mind/Body Coach training. I’ve believed in the mind/body connection for years, and I was excited to learn the tools to link my mind, body, and soul so they would communicate. What happened first was ‘the mess,’ as our mentor and teacher, Abigail Steidley, calls it. As we students started getting familiar with our bodies and listening to our inner wisdom, all hell broke loose for all of us. For me? Pain - getting worse, not better! Losing my voice. Colds. Crying, what seemed like ALL.THE.TIME.
Then slowly, while learning and using the tools and understanding the Mind/Body process, the fog and the pain and the sadness/grief started to lift. I kept exercising, got massages, a new mattress, started paying close attention to my intuition around food, fun, pleasure. I started resting more...feeling my feelings more…playing more.
Relief! It was delicious to honor my intuition and my soul messages, living in a more grounded and effortless way. Life was good. Sleeping…no exhaustion…no pain. And this work and it’s results reverberate throughout every aspect of your life. It was a keeper.
So I knew I needed to check in. What the heck was going on? This is what I heard…
Rest. Delicious, real food. No protein shakes. Gather evidence (tracking what happens when I follow my inner guidance). Passion, Fun, Love. Exercise. Of course. When I listen, my inner wisdom is consistent, with a few surprises thrown in, here and there.
So…Do I have to?
I may not ‘feel like’ doing this work some days, and that’s ok. But as a consistent part of my life, my choice is clear for me. I listen and follow my inner wisdom and stay strong, stay rested, stay nourished, maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and follow my bliss.
It doesn’t get better than that.