20 | Listen To Your Body
Podcast link
Transcript
Hello and welcome. It’s great to have you here today from wherever you are joining us. I have been reflecting on a couple of things lately, largely dut to more time spent on the road, either in the car or running. And that gives me the opportunity to contemplate life. It’s time away from technology. It’s time away from other people and it allows me to think more deeply about what’s going on. And one of the things that I have been contemplating lately is how I am getting better at listening to my body and how it’s actually paying off. So, I thought I would dedicate this podcast today to that exact topic.
I believe that our bodies are constantly giving us cues as to what’s happening as a result of what we’re doing. Whether it’s what we’re eating, how we’re moving our bodies, how much sleep we’re getting, how much work we’re doing, whether we’re racing from one thing to another. Our bodies are working hard to give us cues that will provide insights into how our behaviours are affecting us. I also believe that if you’re trying to reach goals, if you are trying to achieve optimal health, listening to your body can help you determine what’s working and what’s not.
And, while it is important to work hard, it’s also important to recover well. That’s where you get peak performance.
I think awareness of our bodies is one of the fundamental keys to improving our health and fitness.
Thankfully, listening to your body is a skill. So, like any other skill, that means you can learn it or you can get better at it. I know that I’ve had to practice this a lot and I continue to practice it because there are times when I switch to the mindset of “just power on through”. But the more I spend time reflecting on how my body is, running a body scan, paying attention to my recovery from either physical or mental exertion, the kinds of things that I’m nourishing my body with, whether it’s food, water, fun activities, the better I am at picking up those triggers and the activities that are not so helpful for my body,
There are a number of cues our body gives us that provide insights as to what’s going on. Thirst, hunger, discomfort, aches, pains, fatigue, tension, heart rate. Your gut is constantly giving you feedback with things like stomach pains, cramps and constipation on the increase. Irritable bowel is one of the fastest-growing autoimmune conditions in the world.
And all too often we’re in such haste to get to the next thing on our to-do list that we don’t pay attention to or deliberately ignore this feedback mechanism that’s innate in our bodies. We are the only species that actively stays awake longer than we should. We are one of the few species that continues to fill our bodies with toxins regularly as a way to dull or escape from what’s going on in our lives. I’m thinking of things like caffeine, nicotine, sugar, alcohol and drugs. These are things that, with very few exceptions, only humans do. There are some tribes of baboons that take berries that give them hallucinogenic experiences. But for the most time, humans are the only ones that really work against our biological protection mechanisms and our biofeedback loops that exist to put us into optimal health.
One of the easiest ways that you can reconnect is to do a quick body scan. You can do this morning, night or during the day, or all three, depending on where you’re at with y our journey. And it’s as simple as finding a couple of minutes to just sit still or lie down, whatever works for you, and ask some questions of yourself. How do I feel in this moment? How is that presenting? What do I need more of? What do I need to do less? How can I best serve my body right now? What are the things that I could be doing that would bring me joy?
And then there’s a list of things you can be doing that will really nourish your body. Drinking water, getting some sleep or having a nap, focusing on your breath, practising meditation, journalling, having something nourishing to eat (a plate full of fruits or vegetables), walking. It’s really simple but particularly in natural environments, walking is really cathartic. You fill your lungs with fresh air, you get the blood pumping, and you reduce your cortisol levels. Hopefully, get a little bit of sunshine to boost your vitamin D and melatonin levels.
Yoga is extremely grounding as too can be Pilates depending on your instructor. Dance is universally used across almost every culture as a way of celebrating and a way of reconnecting to our bodies, grounding ourselves to the earth. You can listen to music or talk to a friend. Touch therapy, massage and laughter. And, if you are injured or trying to recover from physical exertion, maybe it’s heat or maybe it’s ice that your body really needs.
The point here in that you’ve got an opportunity to reflect on how you’re feeling and listen in to your body’s cues as to what it needs. It’s served us well for hundred of thousand s of years and yet we’ve decided in the last two thousand years that we actually know better. We’ve developed products that will get us through and they are doing us a disservice.
So I really do encourage you to take some time on a daily basis to check in with yourself and contemplate what might be a better way of doing things. How can you incorporate breathwork into your meetings during the day so that you are less triggered by people of circumstances? What kit do you need to be able to drink more water at work? I’ve got a whole podcast on that - check it out!
Staying hydrated at work is critical to optimal brain function. Did you know that your brain literally shrinks if you’re dehydrated? I don’t know how anyone can work effectively if your brain is shrinking.
But taking the time to really connect in with yourself, pay attention to what’s going on and adjust your habits accordingly is almost guaranteed to serve you well. So why not give it a shot? And let me know how you do. I’d love to hear, if you go through this process, I’d love to hear from you and understand what’s worked for you and what hasn’t. So reach out, send me a message, ship me an email, send a carrier pigeon, whatever works for you. I’d love to hear if this is a worthwhile exercise for you as well, because I know that for me it’s been particularly instrumental in changing the way in which I respond to, in particular, how I train. And it’s not like I am training less, I’m just training differently. So if I wake in the morning I go, oh, you know, I’m feeling a bit tired or I’m pretty sore from lifting weights, I might alter what I had planned for that day. I might decide to go or a walk instead of going to the gym. I might decide, hey, my body’s feeling really strong and I was going to go for a run, but I might go to the gym instead. And, in doing so, I have noticed that I am getting better results, I’m recovering after, and for the first time, I’m not exhausted all the time from my training. So I thoroughly recommend it. It’s worked for me, I hope it works for you too.
Have a great day!
