Is Your Body Trying to Tell You Something?

“The body is an extraordinary intelligence that is constantly communicating with us. The question is whether we’re listening.”

~Bronwyn

One of my favorite ways to begin a coaching session or team workshop is with a few minutes of stillness.

I invite everyone to close their eyes, take a few deep breaths, and leave behind whatever happened earlier in the day and whatever is waiting for them afterward. The intention is simple: to become fully present. When we arrive in the moment together, something shifts. People soften. Their shoulders relax. Their breathing slows. The conversation becomes deeper, more honest, and more meaningful.

As part of that short practice, I invite them to turn their attention inward and simply notice their body.

What are you feeling? Are any sensations trying to get your attention?

When we open our eyes, I always ask what they noticed, and the answers never cease to amaze me. Someone notices tightness in their chest. Another realizes their jaw has been clenched for days.

Someone else feels a sensation and tightness in their neck and face they always feel but hadn't acknowledged until that very moment.

Our bodies are extraordinary! Take a pause and think about these truths:

Roughly 37 trillion cells are working together every second to keep us alive. Our hearts beat without us asking them to. Our lungs breathe while we sleep. Our nervous system, immune system, hormones, muscles, fascia, organs, and brain are communicating in ways we can't even begin to comprehend. And yet, we often dismiss the wisdom of the very thing keeping us alive.

Instead of listening, we override when we ignore the headache, exhaustion, and (my go-to) knot in the stomach. 

We tell ourselves it's "just stress," and we silence the whispers until the whispers become louder.

I've become fascinated by the messages our bodies send us. Years ago, Louise Hay's book You Can Heal Your Life introduced me to the idea that physical symptoms may sometimes carry emotional or energetic messages. Whether you agree with every interpretation isn't really the point. What intrigued me was the invitation to become curious instead of dismissive.

Not long ago, I developed a nagging pain in my knee that wouldn't go away. I ignored it. I hadn't fallen, and I couldn't remember twisting it or injuring it.

Yet weeks later,  the pain wouldn't leave. Then I asked a different question.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

As I reflected, I came across several symbolic themes often associated with knee discomfort: resistance to change, difficulty yielding, fear of moving forward, or holding too tightly to old beliefs or situations. That last one caught my attention.

I paused.

I reflected.

And I realized there was an area of my life where I was resisting rather than flowing. Old stories that need more of my attention and healing. The pain became an invitation to look inward. My body was communicating with me.

In Energy Leadership, we often talk about awareness being the first step toward transformation. I believe the body is one of our greatest teachers because it lives entirely in the present moment. It doesn't care about our excuses or our carefully crafted stories. It simply tells the truth.

Our bodies are far wiser than we've given them credit for. 

The question is...

Are we listening?

With heart,