Asking and listening to your body as a self-healing tool

Developing skills of communicating with your body will provide a sense of self-reliance and self-trust.

Asking your body - this tool could become available to you at any place, and at any moment. When you are not sure what to do, what decision to make, and how you really feel about something, ask your body!

The body knows, and translates for you the messages that are otherwise not recognized by your current state of consciousness.

The body, alongside your subconscious mind, keeps a record of everything you've ever done, eaten, felt, thought and experienced in your life. Your body is a library of knowledge AND a tool for reading messages from your subconscious.

Your body communicates with you everyday, and learning how to listen to it does not have to be hard! In fact, you as a baby knew exactly how to do it.

As a baby, you naturally listened to your body's messages and reacted to them. When you were not feeling safe (because you were cold, hungry, needed mom's touch, etc.) you cried for safety right away. You were not trying to reason with your body, telling it that for now it has to stay hungry, because a task needed to be finished first. You weren't telling your body to stop wrenching your guts when something horrific was happening to you or around you.

Today, as an adult, you most likely are asking (with frustration) your body what it wants when your head hurts for the 5th day in a row, when your bowels aren't normal for weeks, when you feel tired all the time despite all the coffee and naps you take, and when your lower back pain just keeps coming back...

Would you like to learn a simple technique that will help you get clear answers to these questions?

Communicating with your body

First and the most important thing you have to accept and apply is this: let go of the expectations, let go of the "right" and "wrong" answers, let go of the need to control the outcome. If you expect the body to give you answers that validate your current beliefs or wishes, what's the point of even asking?

The easiest way to let go of your expectations is to treat the process like a play. Be curious of how your body responds, be open to accepting answers without analyzing them.

Notice how do you feel during the process. How does your body feel? What sensations come up? Do you feel open and expansive, or closed and rigid? Do you notice anything else? Smells, sounds, tastes? Maybe an image ran through your mind, maybe you heard something...

Maybe you feel tightness in your throat, or a sudden tiredness and cloudiness of thoughts. Or maybe you feel energized and fresh, well rested and creative. Notice and note all sensations and thoughts.

Example of the process: The Best Elimination Diet for YOU!

Let's say that you want to find out what foods cause your body harm. Instead of doing a food allergy and sensitivity test (costly and many times not accurate), or going on an AIP, Whole30, or any other elimination diet, you will sit down and listen to your body's responses to foods.

Since body remembers how all the foods, plants, animal protein, fats, condiments, spices, minerals, vitamins and everything else you've ever consumed made your body (and ultimately you) feel, the simple thought of and focus on a certain food will recall those reactions and sensations. Trust it.

Prepare a list of foods you want to keep in your diet. Keep this list true to what you actually want to keep on eating. If you know that the food you want to keep on the list is questionable by the "standard" medical society (like coconut oil) but you internally know it could be beneficial for you, keep it on the list. Categorize your list by the type of food to keep yourself organized (for example, list all foods you want to eat that belong to the following categories: root vegetables, nightshades, legumes, leafy vegetables, herbs, other veggies, fruits, meats, nuts, seeds, dairy, grains, condiments, fats, oils, beverages, etc.) and fill your list with simple foods (vegetable soup could be trickier to test as opposed to each vegetable in the soup listed separately).

To start the process, after letting go of expectations, sit quietly in a room where no one will disturb you for the next 15 min to an hour. Keep you list of foods and a pen or pencil with you. Make sure you are properly hydrated and satiated before starting the process.

Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, center yourself. Feel your body; your feet, legs, back, stomach, chest, arms, head. Feel your heart and your gut. Breathe deeply for a few moments. Now, quietly or aloud, state your intention for this exercise. This might be something simple as: "I intend to ask my body for the right foods for me and to accept all answers as valid". Your body will respond to this intention.

Now look at each individual food on your list, taking a few deep breaths in between.

Think about that food, recall how it tastes and smells.

Imagine eating it.

How does your body feel while and after eating that food?

Give yourself some time to imagine yourself after eating that food... right after, an hour after, few hours after, next day. What do you notice? How do you feel?

Write it down next to the food name (simple 'yes' or 'no' will work).

Some foods may surprise you; what you thought you can eat might make you feel icky during this exercise, but most foods will be quite obvious to you. You'll also notice that the moment you think about a food, your body responds immediately.

Now, after going through your list, look at your written responses. Cross off any foods with a 'no' or 'not sure' written next to it. The foods that are left on your list ARE your safe foods. Keep them in your diet until you feel significantly better. Only then you will be able to introduce other foods.

You can use this process with foods, types of exercise that are good for you, colors of clothes or wall paint that's best for you, choosing between fish meal or vegetarian meal, you name it.

Imagine yourself doing the action or making a choice. How do you feel after it's been done?

Your body is the best intuitive tool at your disposal. If your intuitive channels are not developed yet, or if you don't fully trust your clairs yet, use your body. Listen to its responses. Your body will tell you everything you need to know.

You can rely on your body to assist you in making decisions, but never bypass the act of deciding by relying solely on your body's sensations.

BONUS: How to ask the body 'yes' or 'no' questions?

Some answers to your burning questions are buried deep in the subconscious. Thinking about a specific topic or a problem might keep you confused and lost, no matter how much you 'listen', especially if a secondary gain or hidden benefit is attached to the subject of your question.