On the Importance of Listening to Your Body

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a common theme in my posts over the last couple of months: rest.

Y’all. I’ve been tired.

Like, soooo tired.

There are a lot of possibilities for why I’ve been so tired, but I’m leaning toward an increase in anxiety, a couple of bouts with illness, and some big emotions I’ve been processing. While knowing the “why” is important for our health, wellbeing and healing, it’s equally important to actually listen to what our bodies are trying to tell us.

Your body is going to be your best indicator of your health. And if it’s no longer functioning “well,” chances are it’s trying to alert you to something. In this post’s example, my body has been incredibly tired. As a result, I’m having trouble focusing, feeling less motivated to eat nutritiously and finding it more difficult to exercise.

Instead of trying to combat this excess fatigue with coffee and my ADHD meds (which I am still doing from time to time), I’m focusing on leaning into the rest. If my body is asking me for sleep and rest, it’s not going to be happy with caffeine. Caffeine won’t help alleviate my body’s need to rest; it’ll only make it worse.

So I listen to my body. I rest. Last night I slept nearly 10 hours, then followed it up with a 45-minute nap a couple of hours later. And I feel so much better. I feel more productive and capable than I have in days, and I’m enjoying be able to live well.

Similarly, if my lower back starts hurting during my Lagree classes at my local studio, I listen to my body and check my form. If it’s not a form issue, I take a break and proceed with modifications.

If my throat is scratchy, I check the airborne allergens (hello, year-round seasonal allergies). If it doesn’t seem to be allergies, I increase my vitamin and fluid intake.

When given half a chance, our bodies are completely capable of healing themselves. But that half a chance requires intention from us in a lot of areas:

• eating nutritious foods

• moving our bodies

• maintaining low stress levels

• keeping a balance social life and strong relationships

• focusing on things we enjoy

• getting adequate rest

And that intention from us necessitates we listen to our bodies.

What is your body trying to tell you?