How Listening to Your Body Can Change Your Life

I always think that explaining things to people by using word pictures is better than boring them with facts and figures. What is that old saying? Oh yes, “a picture paints a thousand words”, so here goes.

We all know what traffic lights are, what they look like and how they work. Now stay with me because I’m making a point. You are approaching a traffic light when it turns yellow, so you slow down because it will change to a red in a few seconds. You stop at the red and wait. It changes to green, so you go on your way.

With that picture clearly in mind, now think about how this may apply to our bodies. I was told some time ago by a very wise holistic doctor that sometimes we allow our bodies and minds to travel in different directions instead of moving along in sync with each other. The inevitable result of this duality of purpose is that the travellers collide with each other.

In our busy world, how often do we see green in our heads when our bodies are telling us to either slow down or stop? The yellow and red signals are both flashing, but we see only the green, rushing here and there to do the things we think are important. Our bodies keep giving us clues, prompting us through physical illness, vague ailments or at worst, a major breakdown.

In my case, my head said green, get busy, do things, keep moving, but my body was flashing me a yellow light, which I ignored against my doctor’s advice. I kept seeing green, telling myself that everything was fine. If I just keep going my body will obey my mind, but it didn’t. He was right and when the red light came on, I was out of action for three months, and finally, with time to think, I got it.
Our minds and bodies need to work together to get the best results. Take a leaf out of my book and use this traffic light analogy to check out your own body and head. Where are you at this point in time? Do you treat your body with the care and respect it deserves?

There are so many ways to treat yourself. Find your preferred way to relax and rejuvenate. Have a massage, try a Pilates class, or meditation or yoga. Do you enjoy reading? Curl up with a great book, take a slow walk through a park or along the beach. The possibilities are endless. You just need to find the one that suits you, and always remember the traffic lights.