November 7, 2024 • 26 mins
Is your body trying to tell you something? Join me in this special episode, celebrating five transformative years of the Super Soul Model series, as I explore my journey of tuning into the subtle messages our bodies send us daily.
We’ll dive into practical techniques like body scanning, mindful movement, and box breathing to help you understand and respond to the aches, anxious moments, and quiet signals guiding your well-being.
With relatable stories—including a powerful example of a client facing burnout from people-pleasing—we’ll illustrate the importance of truly listening to our bodies. Learn how honoring your body’s natural rhythms can build a foundation for a healthier, happier future.
Thank you for being part of this journey! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share so we can keep bringing more insights and inspiration to our amazing community."
If you'd like to receive more of this content and you are getting great value please show your support here:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
In this episode, I'm going to share with you
something that's oftenoverlooked but incredibly
powerful, and that being able tolisten to the body and the
signals it shares.
The body's always talking, butare you listening?
And in this episode, I'm goingto share with you some tools in
which you can really understandhow it talks to you.
With you, some tools in whichyou can really understand how it
(00:30):
talks to you.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of the Super Soul Model
series.
I'm your host, james Granstrom,and in this episode, we have
calls for celebration becausethe podcast is turning five
years old.
So it's an honour and aprivilege to be able to be
giving you this content for thelast five years and to hopefully
inspire many of you to live andtransform your lives for the
better.
And in honor of that, I'm goingto be sharing with you
(00:52):
something that's reallyimportant where I first started
on my journey and that is thesubject that's often overlooked
and that is listening to thebody's signals.
And when you become consciousand are able to listen to your
body signals, your wholerelationship with your health
and your body begins to change.
And this is what I noticed many, many years ago and as I've
(01:16):
listened.
Over the years, it's becomeclearer and easier to manage
when there are any challengesthat begin to present themselves
.
So how do you really listen toyour body and what's it telling
you?
Why is it important and whydoes it even matter?
That's what I want to clarifyin this episode.
(01:37):
Our bodies are always talkingto us and they're always talking
to us through, like aches andpains.
They're talking to us throughtension in the shoulders and
perhaps you might even befeeling a sense of anxiety or
even fatigue going on inside ofthe body.
So what's that actually saying?
Those signals that you'regetting, those aches, those
(01:58):
pains, that fatigue, thatanxiety is feedback about what
you're doing, and the problem iswe often don't know what to do
when those things start to arisein the body.
And when you begin to listen,things begin to transform and
change, because everything thatyou're getting is a signal, is a
(02:19):
feedback, and usually when it'ssomething that doesn't feel
right, that's the signal thatperhaps you need to do something
about it.
The problem is, whilst we mayhave those tensions, we may have
those aches and pains, we oftendisregard it, and when we do
that, that's to the detriment ofour well-being, if we ever hear
the word gut feeling.
(02:39):
And when you've listened toyour gut, it kind of gets
clearer the next time.
And the same is when you'relistening to your body signals.
When you've listened to yourgut, it kind of gets clearer the
next time.
And the same is when you'relistening to your body signals,
when you do something for yourbody, because you've been
listening to it, because there'sbeen tension or there's been
aches and you've taken thenecessary action, then the body
signals become clearer.
But when you disregard themvery much like disregarding your
(02:59):
gut feelings when they comeabout, whether it's about a
situation, a person or whatever,when you disregard it, that
sense seems to dull itself.
But the body signals will never, ever dull on you.
They will only get louder andscream louder at you through
pain or through tension.
Taking the time to learn how tolisten to your body will
(03:23):
absolutely transform yourrelationship with your health,
the happiness that you feel andthe wellness that your body is
able to exude.
And when you're able to listenand understand and make
conscious choices with thefeedback from the signals that
your body is giving you, thenyou're going to have greater
health, you're going to havegreater energy and you're going
(03:44):
to enjoy greater well-being.
So how do you start listeningto your body?
Well, first you have to learnhow to become present, and what
I mean by present means is thatyou need to pause and slow down
and ask your body a couple ofquestions so that you can
understand what it's trying tosay to you.
When I first started, I had noidea this, but I recognized that
(04:08):
my emotional well-being was wayoff because I was feeling
anxious, I was feeling fatigued,I was feeling tired, but my
physical body was okay so itseemed.
But it was the emotions thatwere playing up with me.
And when I recognized theemotions were talking to me,
then I could do something aboutit.
And in my case, what I learnedto do was begin to slow down,
(04:29):
begin to be and sit still withmyself for longer and spend more
quality time in nature so thatI could actually feel the
emotion that was actuallyrunning rampant inside of my
body.
So one of the things you've gotto ask yourself to become
present, to listen to yourbody's signals is how am I
(04:49):
feeling physically?
Do you have aches or pains?
Do you have any tension?
Are you fatigued?
These are questions you need toask yourself.
And what do you notice aboutyour posture?
What do you notice about yourenergy?
What do you notice about thebreath?
What do you notice about yourenergy?
What do you notice about thebreath?
How are your energy levels?
I mean, I remember when I firststarted, my energy levels were
really low, and so I knew that Ineeded to address that.
(05:13):
Now you might think this isabsolutely pointless sitting
around asking yourself questions, but actually there's some
genius to it, because as youbegin to ask your body, what
does it need?
What's it trying to tell mewhat?
The telltale signs that I'mfeeling right now.
Do I have enough energy?
Do I have aches or pains thatare going on in my leg or my my
(05:34):
back or my chest or wherever?
Any time that you are getting asignal that something is not
absolutely 100?
That's your body giving you asignal.
Even a headache is giving you asignal that perhaps something
that you're thinking is notcorrect in alignment right now,
that perhaps you don't haveenough water in your system
(05:57):
right now, that perhaps you needto lie down and stop pushing
and being resistant right now.
These are the telltale signsthat sitting down, taking a
moment or a pause for one or twominutes can give you the vital
solutions that will help youfind that peace of mind and that
equilibrium and balance again.
(06:17):
As you might think this exerciseis pointless, just remember
you're always spending time, andyou might as well spend time on
something that's important,such as learning about your body
, understanding your body'sneeds.
And Whilst you're spending time, you're also spending energy,
and that might be energy thatyou don't have right now.
(06:39):
So learning how to cultivateyour energy will give you more
energy, and that is why having amoment or two to pause can be
absolutely vital in yourrelationship with your body and
relationship with your emotionalwell-being too with your
emotional well-being too.
So what I've noticed morerecently with me is that when my
(06:59):
energy levels dip, what I tendto do is take small little power
naps, and that's beenabsolutely amazing for me,
because I realized that if Igive myself a 10 or 20 minute
power nap, I come back evenstronger than before, whereas
the old version of myself wouldjust try and power through, and
I noticed that was highlyproductive as a result of taking
(07:19):
those power naps.
So when you are beginning to bepresent with yourself, to
realize that you can just askyour question what does your
body need, then you will be ableto work in harmony with it.
The other thing that I noticedis that when I felt lethargy and
I felt tired, I've been askingmyself the question do I need
something to eat or actually doI need to move my body?
(07:42):
And this is really interesting,because it's a fine line
between recognizing that youactually need to move the body,
versus you might need to eat orversus you might need to have
something to drink.
All of those things areimportant, but really deep down,
you know that when somethingcomes up, that if you offset it
with the exact opposite of howyou're feeling, you're going to
(08:05):
feel much better and bring yourbody back into balance again.
Meaning, when I felt lethargy,the best thing to do is to get
up and have some discipline andgo for a brisk walk or take a
run or go to the gym for 20minutes or something.
I've noticed that that bringsme back to equilibrium and my
body begins to thrive and Ibegin to feel that high level of
(08:25):
energy again.
Now the second way to begin tolisten to your body is to learn
to differentiate betweenphysical and emotional signals.
You can feel the weight ofstress, you can feel the weight
of nervousness.
You can feel the weight ofstress.
You can feel the weight ofnervousness.
You can feel the weight oftension.
When you are feeling likeyou're trying to manage
something for the entire family,you can feel like the weight of
(08:47):
the world is on your shouldersbecause you're trying to manage
and so you take on thatemotional weight.
Do you recognize that that isyour body talking to you through
the emotion?
And when your muscles begin toget really tight in your
shoulders, that's because you'reholding stress in the shoulders
.
When you feel really, reallygood, you feel a lightness of
being.
(09:08):
That's because your body's fullof light.
So when you're happier, yourbody feels lighter, you feel
friskier, you feel free, youfeel enthusiasm, which is the
exact opposite.
So your body's talking to youand there's a direct correlation
between how happy you are andhow good and healthy your body
is versus how stressed you areand how unhealthy or out of
(09:29):
alignment your body is.
So there's a huge differencethat you have to become aware of
in order to understand whereyour body's at, and it's a
constant work in progress, andit's a constant work to find
your own equilibrium and yourbalance.
So if you ever feel nervous, youcan sometimes feel nervous in
the heart, but often you canfeel it nervous in the stomach.
(09:51):
But on the other side of that,when you're getting butterflies,
you're enthused by something orexcited about something.
Maybe it's going on a date, ormaybe it's about a project that
you're really excited about or anew job that you've got.
You can feel excited and getthose butterflies in your
stomach.
That is a nice signal.
You either get the ying or theyang version of that, and the
(10:13):
better you feel, the more thestomach will give you feedback
to say, hey, what you'rethinking and feeling right now
is right on, and I'm giving youthese eager butterflies that are
showing you that what you'rethinking and feeling right now
is an eagerness, is anexcitement.
But when you're nervous, itwill give you the exact opposite
, which will be a whoosh offeeling.
(10:33):
I feel nervous, I feel fear, Ifeel anxiety.
So to be aware of thosefeelings, that they're not just
something to observe anddisregard, but they're there, a
subtle feedback, will empoweryou greatly.
So next, let's look at bodyscanning.
Now, body scanning is usingyour own awareness, from the
tips of your toes to your head,to see how your body is feeling
(10:57):
in any given moment, and it cantake about two to three minutes
to be able to do entirely, andit's something that I learned in
a book some years ago withLouise Hay, and this simple
technique is so powerfulMentally.
What you're going to do is laydown in a very comfortable
position and you can scan fromthe toes all the way to your
(11:19):
head, as if there's a.
You're drawing a line from yourtoes all the way to the top of
your head to see how your bodyis feeling in any given moment.
Are your shins okay?
Are your ankles okay?
Are your knees okay?
Are your hips okay?
Is your chest okay?
Are your arms okay?
Is your hips okay?
Is your chest okay?
Are your arms okay?
Is your neck okay?
When you begin to scan that body, if there's any discrepancy, if
(11:42):
there's anything out ofalignment, you will know when
you do this body scanning andthat means that you can begin to
listen to the signal that yourbody's trying to tell you and if
something's out of alignment,when you're doing this body scan
which is a really simple, easything that you can do, which is
just thinking about it from yourtoes to your head you will know
if something's not quite right.
(12:03):
And when you ask this questionwhat is any discomfort telling
me?
Then, when you really listen,the body will talk and you'll
have some sort of solution aboutwhat you need to do.
Sometimes our bodies hold somuch stress Maybe it's in the
hips, maybe it's in theshoulders, maybe it's even in
the hands, or maybe it's in thelegs.
Wherever the tension or thestress is being held is
(12:27):
basically giving you a signal.
Often, when we have pains inthe neck, sometimes the body is
trying to say who is a pain inthe neck to us, and when we're
having back problems, it's likesometimes we're feeling that
we're being unsupported in life,and when we have leg problems,
we may have difficulty trying tomove forwards in life, and so
(12:47):
trying to become more agile andflexible and sometimes relax
about certain things helps usalleviate this emotional
challenge that we feel in ourbody.
I had one of my clients that Iwas working with recently.
He got put out of action abouta couple of months ago and he
couldn't understand why hecouldn't move very freely and he
(13:12):
was basically out of action andin bed for a few days, and the
day that I worked with him, wemoved a little energy, and what
we discovered was is that he wasconstantly trying to people
please and, as a result, he wasputting his own health and
well-being on the line to tryand satisfy and people please by
going out with one of hisfriends to try and make them
(13:35):
feel better, rather thanlistening to his own body's
needs, which was to relax, and,as a result, his body went right
out of action and he wasn'table to do anything or play any
golf.
And what I told him was is thathis people pleasing and not
listening to his own body'ssignals put him out of action.
And this was a really powerfulthing, and when I said you can
(13:57):
be gentle with yourself and letgo, that you're just doing the
best you can.
What was really interesting wasthat afternoon he started
moving a little bit more freelyand it took him a few weeks to
get really back on his feetagain, but he really learned his
lesson, which was listen toyour own body's signal.
Don't try and people please,otherwise you will be out of
(14:18):
action.
Your body will play up.
And so sometimes, when we're inan accident and there's been a
real challenge, it's becausewe've not been listening to our
life or been listening to ourbody's signals, and I know that
when I looked at my ownexperience, is that when I
started listening to my body, Ihad way more energy.
When I started listening to mybody, I had way more energy.
(14:38):
When I started listening to mybody, I started remaining
healthy and well for a longperiod of time and up to this
day I noticed if there's anyimbalance or something's out of
alignment, it just can come backwithin a day or two just
because of being able to listento the body's signals.
So when you're able to bodyscan and trying to ask the
question what is the body tryingto tell me, you might be able
(15:02):
to get the feedback.
Maybe I need to do somestretching, maybe I need to
relax, maybe I need to do somemore walking in nature.
Maybe I could do a little bitmore yoga.
Maybe I need to do some breathwork to cleanse some of this
anxious energy inside of me.
Maybe I need to learn how tobreathe more deeply.
Now for me, what I've noticed inmy own experience is that the
more that I continue to stretch,the more flexible I become in
(15:26):
my mind as well, and this isreally, really helpful.
So I always try to do stretchclasses every week because it
will help me stretch furtherthan what I would do by myself
and even though I do a littlemini stretch every morning,
going to a stretch class hasbeen absolutely fantastic for my
body and mind and I've noticedthat I've been really happy and
healthy and my body's been highlevel energy.
(15:48):
This year, as a result of justadding longer periods of
stretching into my week andcombining that with great
nutrition, I've noticedeverything's been functioning
really really well.
So look into experience whenyou're asking that question,
when you're scanning your body.
What's my body trying to tellme?
When you begin to address thechallenge, your bodies will give
(16:11):
you a signal and there may bethere's something you can do
about it, and sometimes justacknowledging that the challenge
or the problem is there insideof your body is enough that
awareness begins to reduce thepain.
Sometimes we just need tobecome aware first before we can
do the next thing, which iswork on a solution.
The next thing on the list tohelp you listen to your body
(16:34):
signals is to learn mindfulbreathing.
Often when your breathing iserratic, it's shallow, it's
rapid, and then you feelincongruent, you can feel
nervous, you can feel stressedout, but when we learn how to
slow the breath down, we regainand reset our nervous system and
your body thrives as a resultof resetting.
(16:54):
So notice when you're happywhat your breathing's like, when
you feel equilibrium and youfeel peaceful and you're calm.
Notice what your breathing'slike, because you really notice
what your breathing's like whenyou're stressed out, which is
like really rapid, it's shallowand you have all those emotions
running around in your body andin your system.
So one of the things to counterthat is to slow your breathing
(17:18):
down is to do box breathing andmaybe that's breathe in for four
, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four and then start
the whole process again, four byfour, by four, by four.
That box breathing is sopowerful.
The other thing that I'venoticed for me when my
breathing's been off is I do adouble inhale followed by a long
(17:40):
exhale.
This helps my body come back toequilibrium again, from feeling
in a place of stress back to aplace of calm again.
The next thing on the list tolisten to your body signals is
the power of movement.
Often, when we're stressed,what we don't realize is is that
that stress stays in the systemand one of the best ways to
(18:00):
alleviate that is movement.
Now, that might be yoga, thatmight be running, that might be
brisk walking, that might be anyform of movement, but movement
helps the body release stress.
It's actually a scientific factthat movement helps us release
stress and it's essential forthe body, and I noticed that
when my father died, he wasmoving way less at the end.
(18:23):
The last six months of his lifehe wasn't moving as much, so he
wasn't bringing in as muchenergy into the body.
It was becoming moreincreasingly difficult for him
to move and so, naturally,spirit, which is the breath,
inspire, which comes from within, and expire, is to go out.
When we inspire, meaning bringin more breath, we create more
(18:46):
breath and energy into thesystem.
But if we're not moving thebody, we're not getting as much
air into the system as we could.
So more movement createsgreater energy, and all energy
travels in waves, and the key tohaving more life force or qi as
they call it in Chinese, or qi,is to use energy to create more
(19:08):
energy.
So when you move, you get moreenergy, and so if you want to
have more life force, if youwant more energy, then you must
move your body.
Pretty simple, but it's oftenwe overlook these simple
principles because they're sosimple so we just negate the
idea.
So the next time you're feelinga little lethargic or you're
(19:29):
stressed, go into thinking aboutmoving your body as quickly as
possible, because then you'regetting out of your head and
back into the body again.
This is something that I alwaysshare with my clients is that
when you're stressed, get intothe body and then, when you're
in your body, you're not in yourmind anymore, because that's
where all stress is createdinitially, before it goes into
the body, because stress willstay in the body until you move
(19:52):
it.
Until you move that storedenergy that could be like a
boulder in a river, and whenwe're able to move our bodies
and move it freely, then whathappens is those boulders or the
energetic blocks begin torelease.
So movement can be verypowerful in being able to listen
to your body signal, because itcan unlock any emotional
(20:12):
tension that you might beholding on to.
Furthermore, when you aremoving with intention maybe it's
yoga, maybe it's pilates, orperhaps it's even running I'm
fully aware of when I'm running,what every bit of movement I'm
doing for that run that I thatI'm on.
I absolutely love that highthat I get when I'm running,
(20:32):
because I kind of go out of mymind and just go straight into
my body.
So running with intention, orexercising or moving your body
with intention, even walkingwith intention, is so powerful
for you to alleviate any tension, so that your body helps to
reset itself back to a balance.
And, last but not least,trusting your body's innate
(20:55):
wisdom.
Your body knows what it's doing.
Your heart is beating withoutyou having to think about it.
Your blood is pumping withoutyou having to think about it.
You are breathing in and outevery second or so, and you're
not even conscious, or sometimeseven aware that that's
happening, but it's happening.
The body is perhaps the bestcreation ever on this planet.
(21:16):
That's happening, but it'shappening.
The body is perhaps the bestcreation ever on this planet,
and it's this biologicalmasterpiece created from your
mother and father and from lifeitself.
And so when we're able tolisten to these simple
principles of eat when you'rehungry, drink when you're
thirsty and sleep when you'retired, your body will thrive.
So long as you're trying to usenutrition that will actually
(21:37):
satisfy and fulfill your body,it's far easier to be well when
you're eating Mother Nature'sfoods, and it's far more
difficult to be well when youare eating the wrong foods.
You always kind of know whatfoods are good for you, because
Mother Nature has sent them all.
The question is how much colorin your food are you ingesting
(21:58):
on a day-to-day basis?
For me, I'm trying to eat at abare minimum, 12 fruits and
veggies different fruits andveggies every single day,
because I think that 12 is morethan double the number that
we're actually told by the fooddepartment agency, and I notice
that my skin and my digestionand my levels of energy have
(22:21):
played such a huge part in beingable to ingest way more healthy
, nutritious foods andeliminating toxic foods as well.
For me, I don't drink alcoholand I don't eat meat, but for
other people that's okay.
But what I have noticed is thateverything in moderation is so
important for you to be able tomaintain a healthy balance
(22:43):
inside your body system, and ifyou're feeling any aches and
pains, maybe you need to addressyour diet.
Maybe you're having far toomuch toxicity inside of your
body.
I noticed that when I began toeliminate more toxins in my body
and start having a higheralkali diet, my body remained in
a great state of wellness,which has allowed me to thrive
(23:05):
and do high level, sports andbasically do whatever I want
when I want to do it.
That is a level of freedom thatI am ever, ever so presently
grateful for, and if you justtake the time to listen to the
signals and feed your body theright food, you will thrive.
So the next time you might feelsome tension in your shoulders
(23:28):
or you feel an ache or a pain,or maybe even a flutter inside
of your stomach or inside ofyour heart, whatever you might
feel pause and stop for a momentand ask yourself what am I
thinking, what have I beenthinking?
And also ask yourself what haveI been eating, what have I been
ingesting?
Because your body is alwaysgiving you those signals and
(23:50):
when you listen, you build agreater relationship to say,
maybe I should change that, agreater relationship to say,
maybe I should change that.
I know that when people begin toeliminate toxicity from their
body, they begin to lose weightas well.
All toxicity creates weight,which first goes as physical
weight and emotional weight.
So when we're able to releasetoxicity from the body first,
(24:15):
the body knows how to alignitself, and it's the same in
sports as well.
We need to learn how to restand recuperate rather than
constantly be on the go.
So if that's you, you've got tonotice yourself Am I doing way
too much and could I learn howto rest more?
And if you find yourself nothaving too much energy, then
(24:35):
maybe you need to be looking atthe foods you're ingesting and
maybe clean up your diet quite alot.
And then, if you notice thatyour mind isn't clear, maybe you
need to eliminate some of thealcohol intake that you're
having, because alcohol kind ofconfuses the mind and reduces a
state of clarity and focus.
So all of these things you couldconsider doing if you want to
(24:57):
improve your relationship withyour health and your wellness
and listening to your body'ssignals.
In simple, you just got to askyourself the question what's my
body telling me?
And then when you do, you buildthis wonderful connection.
And it's usually the feedbackwhen we don't feel great, that
the body's trying to talk to us.
Because when the body is normaland you feel absolutely great,
(25:18):
it means that what you're doingis right on track right now.
And as you age, these signalsbecome louder and scream louder
at you if you don't payattention and do the things
right now.
So all these things that youlearn to do now and try and find
equilibrium will be aninvestment for the next 10 years
.
I hope you've enjoyed today'sepisode.
(25:38):
Please consider liking,subscribing and sharing, and if
you'd like to support the show,it's very welcome, because it
helps me bring you top qualitycontent, like I've been doing
for the last five years.
So until the next episode, Iwish you a wonderful weekend and
green lights all the way.
In this episode, I'm going to share with you
something that's oftenoverlooked but incredibly
powerful, and that being able tolisten to the body and the
signals it shares.
The body's always talking, butare you listening?
And in this episode, I'm goingto share with you some tools in
which you can really understandhow it talks to you.
With you, some tools in whichyou can really understand how it
(00:30):
talks to you.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of the Super Soul Model
series.
I'm your host, james Granstrom,and in this episode, we have
calls for celebration becausethe podcast is turning five
years old.
So it's an honour and aprivilege to be able to be
giving you this content for thelast five years and to hopefully
inspire many of you to live andtransform your lives for the
better.
And in honor of that, I'm goingto be sharing with you
(00:52):
something that's reallyimportant where I first started
on my journey and that is thesubject that's often overlooked
and that is listening to thebody's signals.
And when you become consciousand are able to listen to your
body signals, your wholerelationship with your health
and your body begins to change.
And this is what I noticed many, many years ago and as I've
(01:16):
listened.
Over the years, it's becomeclearer and easier to manage
when there are any challengesthat begin to present themselves
.
So how do you really listen toyour body and what's it telling
you?
Why is it important and whydoes it even matter?
That's what I want to clarifyin this episode.
(01:37):
Our bodies are always talkingto us and they're always talking
to us through, like aches andpains.
They're talking to us throughtension in the shoulders and
perhaps you might even befeeling a sense of anxiety or
even fatigue going on inside ofthe body.
So what's that actually saying?
Those signals that you'regetting, those aches, those
(01:58):
pains, that fatigue, thatanxiety is feedback about what
you're doing, and the problem iswe often don't know what to do
when those things start to arisein the body.
And when you begin to listen,things begin to transform and
change, because everything thatyou're getting is a signal, is a
(02:19):
feedback, and usually when it'ssomething that doesn't feel
right, that's the signal thatperhaps you need to do something
about it.
The problem is, whilst we mayhave those tensions, we may have
those aches and pains, we oftendisregard it, and when we do
that, that's to the detriment ofour well-being, if we ever hear
the word gut feeling.
(02:39):
And when you've listened toyour gut, it kind of gets
clearer the next time.
And the same is when you'relistening to your body signals.
When you've listened to yourgut, it kind of gets clearer the
next time.
And the same is when you'relistening to your body signals,
when you do something for yourbody, because you've been
listening to it, because there'sbeen tension or there's been
aches and you've taken thenecessary action, then the body
signals become clearer.
But when you disregard themvery much like disregarding your
(02:59):
gut feelings when they comeabout, whether it's about a
situation, a person or whatever,when you disregard it, that
sense seems to dull itself.
But the body signals will never, ever dull on you.
They will only get louder andscream louder at you through
pain or through tension.
Taking the time to learn how tolisten to your body will
(03:23):
absolutely transform yourrelationship with your health,
the happiness that you feel andthe wellness that your body is
able to exude.
And when you're able to listenand understand and make
conscious choices with thefeedback from the signals that
your body is giving you, thenyou're going to have greater
health, you're going to havegreater energy and you're going
(03:44):
to enjoy greater well-being.
So how do you start listeningto your body?
Well, first you have to learnhow to become present, and what
I mean by present means is thatyou need to pause and slow down
and ask your body a couple ofquestions so that you can
understand what it's trying tosay to you.
When I first started, I had noidea this, but I recognized that
(04:08):
my emotional well-being was wayoff because I was feeling
anxious, I was feeling fatigued,I was feeling tired, but my
physical body was okay so itseemed.
But it was the emotions thatwere playing up with me.
And when I recognized theemotions were talking to me,
then I could do something aboutit.
And in my case, what I learnedto do was begin to slow down,
(04:29):
begin to be and sit still withmyself for longer and spend more
quality time in nature so thatI could actually feel the
emotion that was actuallyrunning rampant inside of my
body.
So one of the things you've gotto ask yourself to become
present, to listen to yourbody's signals is how am I
(04:49):
feeling physically?
Do you have aches or pains?
Do you have any tension?
Are you fatigued?
These are questions you need toask yourself.
And what do you notice aboutyour posture?
What do you notice about yourenergy?
What do you notice about thebreath?
What do you notice about yourenergy?
What do you notice about thebreath?
How are your energy levels?
I mean, I remember when I firststarted, my energy levels were
really low, and so I knew that Ineeded to address that.
(05:13):
Now you might think this isabsolutely pointless sitting
around asking yourself questions, but actually there's some
genius to it, because as youbegin to ask your body, what
does it need?
What's it trying to tell mewhat?
The telltale signs that I'mfeeling right now.
Do I have enough energy?
Do I have aches or pains thatare going on in my leg or my my
(05:34):
back or my chest or wherever?
Any time that you are getting asignal that something is not
absolutely 100?
That's your body giving you asignal.
Even a headache is giving you asignal that perhaps something
that you're thinking is notcorrect in alignment right now,
that perhaps you don't haveenough water in your system
(05:57):
right now, that perhaps you needto lie down and stop pushing
and being resistant right now.
These are the telltale signsthat sitting down, taking a
moment or a pause for one or twominutes can give you the vital
solutions that will help youfind that peace of mind and that
equilibrium and balance again.
(06:17):
As you might think this exerciseis pointless, just remember
you're always spending time, andyou might as well spend time on
something that's important,such as learning about your body
, understanding your body'sneeds.
And Whilst you're spending time, you're also spending energy,
and that might be energy thatyou don't have right now.
(06:39):
So learning how to cultivateyour energy will give you more
energy, and that is why having amoment or two to pause can be
absolutely vital in yourrelationship with your body and
relationship with your emotionalwell-being too with your
emotional well-being too.
So what I've noticed morerecently with me is that when my
(06:59):
energy levels dip, what I tendto do is take small little power
naps, and that's beenabsolutely amazing for me,
because I realized that if Igive myself a 10 or 20 minute
power nap, I come back evenstronger than before, whereas
the old version of myself wouldjust try and power through, and
I noticed that was highlyproductive as a result of taking
(07:19):
those power naps.
So when you are beginning to bepresent with yourself, to
realize that you can just askyour question what does your
body need, then you will be ableto work in harmony with it.
The other thing that I noticedis that when I felt lethargy and
I felt tired, I've been askingmyself the question do I need
something to eat or actually doI need to move my body?
(07:42):
And this is really interesting,because it's a fine line
between recognizing that youactually need to move the body,
versus you might need to eat orversus you might need to have
something to drink.
All of those things areimportant, but really deep down,
you know that when somethingcomes up, that if you offset it
with the exact opposite of howyou're feeling, you're going to
(08:05):
feel much better and bring yourbody back into balance again.
Meaning, when I felt lethargy,the best thing to do is to get
up and have some discipline andgo for a brisk walk or take a
run or go to the gym for 20minutes or something.
I've noticed that that bringsme back to equilibrium and my
body begins to thrive and Ibegin to feel that high level of
(08:25):
energy again.
Now the second way to begin tolisten to your body is to learn
to differentiate betweenphysical and emotional signals.
You can feel the weight ofstress, you can feel the weight
of nervousness.
You can feel the weight ofstress.
You can feel the weight ofnervousness.
You can feel the weight oftension.
When you are feeling likeyou're trying to manage
something for the entire family,you can feel like the weight of
(08:47):
the world is on your shouldersbecause you're trying to manage
and so you take on thatemotional weight.
Do you recognize that that isyour body talking to you through
the emotion?
And when your muscles begin toget really tight in your
shoulders, that's because you'reholding stress in the shoulders
.
When you feel really, reallygood, you feel a lightness of
being.
(09:08):
That's because your body's fullof light.
So when you're happier, yourbody feels lighter, you feel
friskier, you feel free, youfeel enthusiasm, which is the
exact opposite.
So your body's talking to youand there's a direct correlation
between how happy you are andhow good and healthy your body
is versus how stressed you areand how unhealthy or out of
(09:29):
alignment your body is.
So there's a huge differencethat you have to become aware of
in order to understand whereyour body's at, and it's a
constant work in progress, andit's a constant work to find
your own equilibrium and yourbalance.
So if you ever feel nervous, youcan sometimes feel nervous in
the heart, but often you canfeel it nervous in the stomach.
(09:51):
But on the other side of that,when you're getting butterflies,
you're enthused by something orexcited about something.
Maybe it's going on a date, ormaybe it's about a project that
you're really excited about or anew job that you've got.
You can feel excited and getthose butterflies in your
stomach.
That is a nice signal.
You either get the ying or theyang version of that, and the
(10:13):
better you feel, the more thestomach will give you feedback
to say, hey, what you'rethinking and feeling right now
is right on, and I'm giving youthese eager butterflies that are
showing you that what you'rethinking and feeling right now
is an eagerness, is anexcitement.
But when you're nervous, itwill give you the exact opposite
, which will be a whoosh offeeling.
(10:33):
I feel nervous, I feel fear, Ifeel anxiety.
So to be aware of thosefeelings, that they're not just
something to observe anddisregard, but they're there, a
subtle feedback, will empoweryou greatly.
So next, let's look at bodyscanning.
Now, body scanning is usingyour own awareness, from the
tips of your toes to your head,to see how your body is feeling
(10:57):
in any given moment, and it cantake about two to three minutes
to be able to do entirely, andit's something that I learned in
a book some years ago withLouise Hay, and this simple
technique is so powerfulMentally.
What you're going to do is laydown in a very comfortable
position and you can scan fromthe toes all the way to your
(11:19):
head, as if there's a.
You're drawing a line from yourtoes all the way to the top of
your head to see how your bodyis feeling in any given moment.
Are your shins okay?
Are your ankles okay?
Are your knees okay?
Are your hips okay?
Is your chest okay?
Are your arms okay?
Is your hips okay?
Is your chest okay?
Are your arms okay?
Is your neck okay?
When you begin to scan that body, if there's any discrepancy, if
(11:42):
there's anything out ofalignment, you will know when
you do this body scanning andthat means that you can begin to
listen to the signal that yourbody's trying to tell you and if
something's out of alignment,when you're doing this body scan
which is a really simple, easything that you can do, which is
just thinking about it from yourtoes to your head you will know
if something's not quite right.
(12:03):
And when you ask this questionwhat is any discomfort telling
me?
Then, when you really listen,the body will talk and you'll
have some sort of solution aboutwhat you need to do.
Sometimes our bodies hold somuch stress Maybe it's in the
hips, maybe it's in theshoulders, maybe it's even in
the hands, or maybe it's in thelegs.
Wherever the tension or thestress is being held is
(12:27):
basically giving you a signal.
Often, when we have pains inthe neck, sometimes the body is
trying to say who is a pain inthe neck to us, and when we're
having back problems, it's likesometimes we're feeling that
we're being unsupported in life,and when we have leg problems,
we may have difficulty trying tomove forwards in life, and so
(12:47):
trying to become more agile andflexible and sometimes relax
about certain things helps usalleviate this emotional
challenge that we feel in ourbody.
I had one of my clients that Iwas working with recently.
He got put out of action abouta couple of months ago and he
couldn't understand why hecouldn't move very freely and he
(13:12):
was basically out of action andin bed for a few days, and the
day that I worked with him, wemoved a little energy, and what
we discovered was is that he wasconstantly trying to people
please and, as a result, he wasputting his own health and
well-being on the line to tryand satisfy and people please by
going out with one of hisfriends to try and make them
(13:35):
feel better, rather thanlistening to his own body's
needs, which was to relax, and,as a result, his body went right
out of action and he wasn'table to do anything or play any
golf.
And what I told him was is thathis people pleasing and not
listening to his own body'ssignals put him out of action.
And this was a really powerfulthing, and when I said you can
(13:57):
be gentle with yourself and letgo, that you're just doing the
best you can.
What was really interesting wasthat afternoon he started
moving a little bit more freelyand it took him a few weeks to
get really back on his feetagain, but he really learned his
lesson, which was listen toyour own body's signal.
Don't try and people please,otherwise you will be out of
(14:18):
action.
Your body will play up.
And so sometimes, when we're inan accident and there's been a
real challenge, it's becausewe've not been listening to our
life or been listening to ourbody's signals, and I know that
when I looked at my ownexperience, is that when I
started listening to my body, Ihad way more energy.
When I started listening to mybody, I had way more energy.
(14:38):
When I started listening to mybody, I started remaining
healthy and well for a longperiod of time and up to this
day I noticed if there's anyimbalance or something's out of
alignment, it just can come backwithin a day or two just
because of being able to listento the body's signals.
So when you're able to bodyscan and trying to ask the
question what is the body tryingto tell me, you might be able
(15:02):
to get the feedback.
Maybe I need to do somestretching, maybe I need to
relax, maybe I need to do somemore walking in nature.
Maybe I could do a little bitmore yoga.
Maybe I need to do some breathwork to cleanse some of this
anxious energy inside of me.
Maybe I need to learn how tobreathe more deeply.
Now for me, what I've noticed inmy own experience is that the
more that I continue to stretch,the more flexible I become in
(15:26):
my mind as well, and this isreally, really helpful.
So I always try to do stretchclasses every week because it
will help me stretch furtherthan what I would do by myself
and even though I do a littlemini stretch every morning,
going to a stretch class hasbeen absolutely fantastic for my
body and mind and I've noticedthat I've been really happy and
healthy and my body's been highlevel energy.
(15:48):
This year, as a result of justadding longer periods of
stretching into my week andcombining that with great
nutrition, I've noticedeverything's been functioning
really really well.
So look into experience whenyou're asking that question,
when you're scanning your body.
What's my body trying to tellme?
When you begin to address thechallenge, your bodies will give
(16:11):
you a signal and there may bethere's something you can do
about it, and sometimes justacknowledging that the challenge
or the problem is there insideof your body is enough that
awareness begins to reduce thepain.
Sometimes we just need tobecome aware first before we can
do the next thing, which iswork on a solution.
The next thing on the list tohelp you listen to your body
(16:34):
signals is to learn mindfulbreathing.
Often when your breathing iserratic, it's shallow, it's
rapid, and then you feelincongruent, you can feel
nervous, you can feel stressedout, but when we learn how to
slow the breath down, we regainand reset our nervous system and
your body thrives as a resultof resetting.
(16:54):
So notice when you're happywhat your breathing's like, when
you feel equilibrium and youfeel peaceful and you're calm.
Notice what your breathing'slike, because you really notice
what your breathing's like whenyou're stressed out, which is
like really rapid, it's shallowand you have all those emotions
running around in your body andin your system.
So one of the things to counterthat is to slow your breathing
(17:18):
down is to do box breathing andmaybe that's breathe in for four
, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four and then start
the whole process again, four byfour, by four, by four.
That box breathing is sopowerful.
The other thing that I'venoticed for me when my
breathing's been off is I do adouble inhale followed by a long
(17:40):
exhale.
This helps my body come back toequilibrium again, from feeling
in a place of stress back to aplace of calm again.
The next thing on the list tolisten to your body signals is
the power of movement.
Often, when we're stressed,what we don't realize is is that
that stress stays in the systemand one of the best ways to
(18:00):
alleviate that is movement.
Now, that might be yoga, thatmight be running, that might be
brisk walking, that might be anyform of movement, but movement
helps the body release stress.
It's actually a scientific factthat movement helps us release
stress and it's essential forthe body, and I noticed that
when my father died, he wasmoving way less at the end.
(18:23):
The last six months of his lifehe wasn't moving as much, so he
wasn't bringing in as muchenergy into the body.
It was becoming moreincreasingly difficult for him
to move and so, naturally,spirit, which is the breath,
inspire, which comes from within, and expire, is to go out.
When we inspire, meaning bringin more breath, we create more
(18:46):
breath and energy into thesystem.
But if we're not moving thebody, we're not getting as much
air into the system as we could.
So more movement createsgreater energy, and all energy
travels in waves, and the key tohaving more life force or qi as
they call it in Chinese, or qi,is to use energy to create more
(19:08):
energy.
So when you move, you get moreenergy, and so if you want to
have more life force, if youwant more energy, then you must
move your body.
Pretty simple, but it's oftenwe overlook these simple
principles because they're sosimple so we just negate the
idea.
So the next time you're feelinga little lethargic or you're
(19:29):
stressed, go into thinking aboutmoving your body as quickly as
possible, because then you'regetting out of your head and
back into the body again.
This is something that I alwaysshare with my clients is that
when you're stressed, get intothe body and then, when you're
in your body, you're not in yourmind anymore, because that's
where all stress is createdinitially, before it goes into
the body, because stress willstay in the body until you move
(19:52):
it.
Until you move that storedenergy that could be like a
boulder in a river, and whenwe're able to move our bodies
and move it freely, then whathappens is those boulders or the
energetic blocks begin torelease.
So movement can be verypowerful in being able to listen
to your body signal, because itcan unlock any emotional
(20:12):
tension that you might beholding on to.
Furthermore, when you aremoving with intention maybe it's
yoga, maybe it's pilates, orperhaps it's even running I'm
fully aware of when I'm running,what every bit of movement I'm
doing for that run that I thatI'm on.
I absolutely love that highthat I get when I'm running,
(20:32):
because I kind of go out of mymind and just go straight into
my body.
So running with intention, orexercising or moving your body
with intention, even walkingwith intention, is so powerful
for you to alleviate any tension, so that your body helps to
reset itself back to a balance.
And, last but not least,trusting your body's innate
(20:55):
wisdom.
Your body knows what it's doing.
Your heart is beating withoutyou having to think about it.
Your blood is pumping withoutyou having to think about it.
You are breathing in and outevery second or so, and you're
not even conscious, or sometimeseven aware that that's
happening, but it's happening.
The body is perhaps the bestcreation ever on this planet.
(21:16):
That's happening, but it'shappening.
The body is perhaps the bestcreation ever on this planet,
and it's this biologicalmasterpiece created from your
mother and father and from lifeitself.
And so when we're able tolisten to these simple
principles of eat when you'rehungry, drink when you're
thirsty and sleep when you'retired, your body will thrive.
So long as you're trying to usenutrition that will actually
(21:37):
satisfy and fulfill your body,it's far easier to be well when
you're eating Mother Nature'sfoods, and it's far more
difficult to be well when youare eating the wrong foods.
You always kind of know whatfoods are good for you, because
Mother Nature has sent them all.
The question is how much colorin your food are you ingesting
(21:58):
on a day-to-day basis?
For me, I'm trying to eat at abare minimum, 12 fruits and
veggies different fruits andveggies every single day,
because I think that 12 is morethan double the number that
we're actually told by the fooddepartment agency, and I notice
that my skin and my digestionand my levels of energy have
(22:21):
played such a huge part in beingable to ingest way more healthy
, nutritious foods andeliminating toxic foods as well.
For me, I don't drink alcoholand I don't eat meat, but for
other people that's okay.
But what I have noticed is thateverything in moderation is so
important for you to be able tomaintain a healthy balance
(22:43):
inside your body system, and ifyou're feeling any aches and
pains, maybe you need to addressyour diet.
Maybe you're having far toomuch toxicity inside of your
body.
I noticed that when I began toeliminate more toxins in my body
and start having a higheralkali diet, my body remained in
a great state of wellness,which has allowed me to thrive
(23:05):
and do high level, sports andbasically do whatever I want
when I want to do it.
That is a level of freedom thatI am ever, ever so presently
grateful for, and if you justtake the time to listen to the
signals and feed your body theright food, you will thrive.
So the next time you might feelsome tension in your shoulders
(23:28):
or you feel an ache or a pain,or maybe even a flutter inside
of your stomach or inside ofyour heart, whatever you might
feel pause and stop for a momentand ask yourself what am I
thinking, what have I beenthinking?
And also ask yourself what haveI been eating, what have I been
ingesting?
Because your body is alwaysgiving you those signals and
(23:50):
when you listen, you build agreater relationship to say,
maybe I should change that, agreater relationship to say,
maybe I should change that.
I know that when people begin toeliminate toxicity from their
body, they begin to lose weightas well.
All toxicity creates weight,which first goes as physical
weight and emotional weight.
So when we're able to releasetoxicity from the body first,
(24:15):
the body knows how to alignitself, and it's the same in
sports as well.
We need to learn how to restand recuperate rather than
constantly be on the go.
So if that's you, you've got tonotice yourself Am I doing way
too much and could I learn howto rest more?
And if you find yourself nothaving too much energy, then
(24:35):
maybe you need to be looking atthe foods you're ingesting and
maybe clean up your diet quite alot.
And then, if you notice thatyour mind isn't clear, maybe you
need to eliminate some of thealcohol intake that you're
having, because alcohol kind ofconfuses the mind and reduces a
state of clarity and focus.
So all of these things you couldconsider doing if you want to
(24:57):
improve your relationship withyour health and your wellness
and listening to your body'ssignals.
In simple, you just got to askyourself the question what's my
body telling me?
And then when you do, you buildthis wonderful connection.
And it's usually the feedbackwhen we don't feel great, that
the body's trying to talk to us.
Because when the body is normaland you feel absolutely great,
(25:18):
it means that what you're doingis right on track right now.
And as you age, these signalsbecome louder and scream louder
at you if you don't payattention and do the things
right now.
So all these things that youlearn to do now and try and find
equilibrium will be aninvestment for the next 10 years
.
I hope you've enjoyed today'sepisode.
(25:38):
Please consider liking,subscribing and sharing, and if
you'd like to support the show,it's very welcome, because it
helps me bring you top qualitycontent, like I've been doing
for the last five years.
So until the next episode, Iwish you a wonderful weekend and
green lights all the way.
Popular Podcasts
Good Game with Sarah Spain
Good Game is your one-stop shop for the biggest stories in women’s sports. Every day, host Sarah Spain gives you the stories, stakes, stars and stats to keep up with your favorite women’s teams, leagues and athletes. Through thoughtful insight, witty banter, and an all around good time, Sarah and friends break down the latest news, talk about the games you can’t miss, and debate the issues of the day. Don’t miss interviews with the people of the moment, whether they be athletes, coaches, reporters, or celebrity fans.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Crime Junkie
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.