From our December 2021 Newsletter:
What Is Your Body Trying to Tell You?
Have you ever been frustrated by trying to figure out what your body is trying to tell you?
The errant headache, the unrelenting limb pain, the brain fog or revved up pulse or washing over of anxiety – have you ever wanted to yell
“JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO SAY!”?
The rushing around of the holiday season can drown out subtle body messages, forcing our bodies to turn up the volume to try to get us to hear them. Needing an alarm to wake up or feeling drowsy in the afternoon are more muted signs that we need more sleep, but we might push past these to sheer exhaustion before we finally give our weary bones extra time in bed.
In this “season of giving,” I’m inviting you to give yourself the most exquisite gift of all:
Your loving attention.
That means pausing to slow down and take a breath. Instead of seeing traffic or long lines at stores as impeding your forward progress, how about using these opportunities to tune into what your body is trying to tell you? Dr. Kathlyn Hendricks calls this process of pulling your attention fully inward so you can scan and see what is going on “in-looping,” as opposed to the ongoing “out-looping” we tend to do to manage our lives.
Try it right now. Close your eyes and scan all through your body. Along with finding any tension or pain, look for the places that feel good and flowing. Now do that again, and take some long, easy breaths.
There’s something so lovely about in-looping. The focus inward after a day of out-looping to external demands from work or family can almost seem indulgent. (How about a little more of that right now…)
Over and over, I hear clients say
“I just want to be seen and heard.” Not agreed with, even, just known. But do you see and hear you? (OK, one more time, some breaths, some in-looping…)
Giving yourself the gift of your own sweet attention can fill that place in you that longs for others to love and support you. Of course, their loving focus can also be deeply nourishing, though I wonder how much of that we’d require if we were willing to tune in focus, listen to our own inner world.
Let’s practice one more time, bringing your attention in and through your whole body as you luxuriate in the wonder of your breath.
(I’ll wait.) 🙂
Your body might figure out that you’re listening, that you’re interested in what’s going on in there, that you’ll respond to the quieter signals it’s sending so it doesn’t have to yell at you with pain and tension.
You’ll find your flow in there, your essence, and ultimately, your joy. All from choosing this perfect and most exquisite gift of all:
YOUR miraculous attention.