Let's start with the basics.
Have you ever made a decision that went against your inner voice?
What happens inside your body when you go against your gut?
If you're paying attention to your body - maybe you realize you become queasy, maybe you get a tightness in your chest, maybe you get tense in your shoulders.
If you aren't paying attention to your body - IT WILL LET YOU KNOW. Maybe you start to get sick, maybe you start to get a rash, maybe your anxiety climbs (I'm speaking from experience here.)
In order to start to pave the way for honor - one thing we have to do is become aware of what our bodies are doing.
What are the physical manifestations?
There are so many clues.
Our bodies DO NOT LIE.
They tell the truth of what is going on in our hearts, minds, and in our gut.
Let's just start with something simple.
This week - let's pay attention to one thing.
What hurts on our bodies? Do our joints hurt? Are we nervous? Are we stressed? Do we have pain in our lower back? Do we have a rash that won't go away.
Let's just turn our awareness toward our bodies.
Our bodies are amazing. They are our friends. They are so smart and wise and will carry us through this wonderful life.
Oh, and in case some of you are thinking "She wants me to diet during the holidays?!" Absolutely not. I don't want you to diet at all. Ever. Diets are the pits.
I want you to enjoy your life!!!
Being aware of our bodies and what they are trying to communicate to us is not about weight or image - it's about learning to listen how our bodies are communicating to us.
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I'll give you a quick example.
My youngest is 11 months old and I'm still going through postpartum depression. I am helping myself out in a few ways - extra vitamins, exercise, medication. BUT I noticed that my PPD was getting increasingly worse. So much so that I was WAKING UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WITH COUGH ATTACKS. My body was pulling me out of sleep and coughing like crazy.
After some days of denial (thinking that it was a cold) I started to do a little research- and sure enough. ANXIETY DRIVEN COUGH ATTACKS ARE A THING.
The cough comes because one's brain doesn't think it's going to get enough oxygen so it induces a cough. And it becomes a crazy cycle of anxiousness. One is anxious so one coughs and one continues coughing because they're anxious.
The thing is - had my body not done this. I would have thought "I'm not anxious - I'm totally fine." BUT I WASN'T.
So, I went in to the doctor. They adjusted my medication and bing bang boom. No more cough. (As a side note, meds work for me, not for everyone.)
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Paying attention to our bodies is a skill.
Becoming friends with our bodies and valuing our bodies is going to help us walk the pathway to honor.
Be good to yourself, you deserve it, Catia