Did you know your body is incapable of lying to you?

The body constantly gives us information and feedback about the experiences we are having, the environments we are in, and the people and things we are interacting with.

It tells us what feels good and what doesn’t, what’s working and what isn’t.

It tells us when it’s tired, hungry, thirsty, and when it needs to use the bathroom. It tells us when something hurts or is too hot or cold. It also tells us when something feels pleasurable, or when it feels unsafe, or stressed.

The body is constantly sending us messages about the physiological processes that are happening inside of it through sensation.

But in today’s fast paced culture, a vast majority of women are very disconnected from the body’s wisdom.

For a whole host of reasons (best suited for another discussion), our minds can convince us to override the information and steady stream of messages that our bodies are giving us. We have responsibilities and agreements and there are times when sh*t just need to get done!

There are times when we must override the needs of the body to see things through to completion. But instead doing this on occasion, our fast-paced lives have started to demand that we operate from this state of urgency all the time.

This is why so many of us are living as if our bodies are here only to hold up our heads. It’s a symptom of our patriarchal culture that values productivity over being, thinking over feeling, and the mind over the body.

If you recognize this in yourself, I want you to know you didn’t invent this way of living. You inherited it!

But here’s the thing:

When we get into the habit of overriding, ignoring, or denying our bodies, we lose connection with an important and wise part of ourselves. It may become difficult to hear what our bodies are saying to us at any given moment in time because we have forgotten how to do it.

We become easily accustomed to the physical issues, pains, and body challenges we’re having to the point where we don’t even register that they’re there. Instead, we normalize and tolerate them, and find ways to adapt and live with them.

This can work for a while, but eventually and without fail, the body will start to talk more loudly. By the time the body is shouting at us, we may be waist deep in a health crisis that demands our care. And overriding the body is no longer an option.

More than anything other complaint or body challenge, THIS is what I see happening inside nearly every single one of my clients.

They’ve developed a disconnect between the truth of what their bodies are saying, and what their minds think is more important.

It can take time, guidance, and skill to unwind all the ways the mind tries to dominate and control the body. But it is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your health.

Because so often we completely forget and even take for granted how precious our bodies really are.

Your body is the vehicle that carries your brilliance around. It’s what allows you to have this amazing experience called life. It’s what houses your spirit and soul.

Where would you live if your body wasn’t here? You wouldn’t. That’s the truth.

The next time your body starts to talk to you – maybe through pain, or an injury, or a chronic niggling symptom of something that feels like it’s getting in your way…

I want to remind you that your body is not a burden or a thing to be tamed and controlled. And even if you’re living with a body challenge of some kind, your body isn’t broken!

Your body is a living, breathing miracle – the very temple within which YOU reside. Somehow, somewhere, at some point in time we all forget this.

Women in particular tend to judge and attack and feel so much shame around their bodies. We lose touch with just how fantastic and amazing our bodies are, and what a privilege it is for us to nurture, care for and be in love with our human form.

So, this week, I have an invitation for you.

What would it be like to take time this week to be in awe of your body? To be in awe of how your heart beats without you needing to tell it to.

What would it be like to celebrate the fact that your hand or foot or eyebrow moves even before you explicitly ask it to? How would it feel to rejoice that you woke up once again in your body to live and enjoy another day?

If you are health or body challenged, be in awe of what your body CAN do, of what it does for you, of how it works so hard on your behalf, and of all the ways it has transformed itself and made compensations, so you have a place to live.

Every body deserves to be witnessed for just how miraculous it is.

For this week, start with awe. Maybe even get curious about what your body is saying to you.

You might be surprised by the wisdom your body has to share with you, and the gifts it is offering you today.

Lots of love,

Alicia