Over the past year in my healing journey, I've been on a journey of learning to listen to my body. Breathwork has been a huge part of that, as well as all of these different healing modalities and practices that I've been incorporating into Radiate Retreat. Over time I've slowly been able to become more in-tune with my body and learned to hear clear messages she sends me.
I've gotten to the point where I can literally let my body tell me if I date a person, say yes to an opportunity, eat something, go somewhere, keep someone as a friend, who to trust, if i should go out or stay in, anything really.
One of the first ways I began developing this practice was with people. I literally let my body tell me if the person I'm interacting with is someone that I should have in my life or not, if it's someone that I feel safe with and can trust or not.
I started by noticing how I felt in my body when my nervous system felt calm vs. when it was in flight or flight mode. If I sat down and closed my eyes, I tried to notice how every part of my body felt. Did I feel any tingling sensations in my arms? discomfort in my belly? burning in my chest? Or did I feel a soft wave of calmness coming over me?
I began to notice that when I was around certain people, I would feel some of these uncomfortable sensations begin to come up in my body. I noticed that in one of my past relationships, whenever I was in the same room as that person, my arms would tingle and I would feel a slight burning sensation begin to rise up in my chest. I would feel tingling through my body (that was anxiety manifesting physically). This was my body going into fight or flight mode and telling me that it did not feel safe around this person.
So, I made it a quest to surround myself with people who made my nervous system feel calm. People that when I was physically around them, my body felt completely at ease. I told myself that the next person I dated had to be someone who calmed my nervous system. This is part of the reason I don't think that "butterflies" are actually a good thing. I don't want to feel anxious flutters in my belly around the person that I'm dating, I want to feel peace and calm. Like that feeling right before you fall asleep for a nap, when you feel your body calm and drifting. That's the feeling I'm seeking. I began trying to notice this in my body during all of my interactions with people. Whether it be dating, friendships, or business arrangements, my body can tell me who I should or shouldn't surround myself with.
This practice works with everything! If I'm invited to go out on a Friday night, I close my eyes, think about going out, and then notice how my body reacts when I think about going out. If I feel calm, it's a good sign that I'm ok to go out that night. If I feel any anxiety or uncomfortable sensations in my body, it's my body telling me it might not be a good idea.
I do this same check-in with my body when considering what to eat, where to live, what trips to book, what jobs to take- really any decisions. Sometimes I'll get out of tune with my body and have a hard time deciphering what's in my head vs what my body is telling me. But the more often I check in with my body and notice how it's feeling, the clearer the messages get.
This has been a beautiful practice of getting to know my body better, understanding my intuition, and trusting myself. I share this practice with you in hopes that it can help whoever is reading this to do the same.
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