Your body tries to communicate with us, but do you listen to your body? The body gives us signs and signals but we are so occupied with the on-goings in our life that we have stopped listening to them, we ignore them most of the time. We are always in such a rush to get to places or finish the task at hand, we do not give attention to our bodies. There comes a time when our body gives up on us and we might find ourselves with a medical condition or disease, so – “Listen to your body“.
Listen to Pain to Heal and be Healthy
Pain is one such mechanism through which our body tries to communicate with us. Through pain our body lets us know that something is not right and it needs to be attended to. At times we would be able to resolve the pain by establishing a communication channel with our body and rectifying the problem causing the pain. If the pain is severe and ongoing it would be best to consult a medical practitioner, while still trying to listen to your body.
While doing a particular task or exercising if you experience pain, stop and try to distinguish if the pain is muscular or is it something more. Muscle soreness also called DOMS (Delayed-onset muscle soreness) resulting due to exercise usually goes away in a day or so. If a certain movement or activity is causing repeated pain it is advisable to STOP that activity until you understand the cause of the pain. If we continue despite the pain it might result in causing severe damage. One might also experience pain if they are not adequately rested or isn’t sleeping well.
Heal the Pain and be Healthy
Relating to my own life experience, sometime last year, I was experiencing pain regularly in the area above my knee. I tried to establish a communication channel with my body – Each night before sleeping, I started asking myself – Why am I having this pain? What is causing the pain? What can I do to resolve the pain? After about two days it struck me that the posture I was sitting in while working, with one knee over the other might be causing the pain.
I changed my posture while working and the pain subsided. I haven’t had pain in that area of my body since then. That night I thanked my body for letting me know what I needed to change. Gratitude always helps to keep the communication channel open with our body.
It’s like maintaining communication with a friend, If a friend helps us we thank our friend for helping us out. It’s the same with our body – treat it like your best friend.
I try to listen to my body not just in case of pain but in other situations as well – while eating, exercising, cooking, and more.
Opening the communication channel with your body to be healthy
Before you go to bed (the last thing you do before going to bed)
- Sit in a comfortable posture or lie down comfortably
- Close your eyes and take deep breaths. Watch the air as it enters your nose and expands your lungs. While exhaling watch the lungs contracting and the air leaving through the nostrils.
- Repeat five times
- Think about the pain area and ask yourself the question – “What can I do to resolve the pain?”
- Repeat asking the question 3 times.
- Open your eyes slowly and then go off to sleep.
Keep repeating the exercise every day till you get an answer. You might get a solution as a thought or a sudden urge to try something or a gut feeling that might resolve the problem. Go ahead and give it a try. If the first idea doesn’t work, you will get other ideas. Keep at it!
To be able to “listen to the body” takes time, practice, and patience. Remember to show gratitude towards your body and thank it for being there for you. It is the only place you live in while on this planet.
To lose weight too, we need to “listen to our body“, especially when we feel hungry and while eating.
In the comments section below please share your experience with pain – Have you ignored pain anytime?