Body, What Do You Want to do Today?

By: Dr. Denise Renye

Many people operate from their minds and not their bodies. They ignore their body’s signals because our culture encourages that sort of behavior. In fact, it is rewarded and praised. We see the valuation of the mind over the body in popular sayings such as, “Mind over matter,” or “No pain, no gain.” We’re taught the body is a sort of annoying inconvenience that gets in the way of our lives; that it’s something to beat into submission with diet and exercise or ignore altogether.

Our culture has leaders that can easily be found on social media, the new modern-day magazines, full of inflated confidence based mostly on patriarchal values that are lived from the viewpoint of the outside in (image) versus the inside out (feeling).

In a culture like that, it's easy for the body to get lost in the mix of the day. And then a day turns into a week, a week into a month, and a month into a year. Before you know it, you’re completely cut off from what your body needs or wants because you’re so focused on what your mind wants needs or wants instead. What happens? You operate in a dissociated manner far from the authentic you and closer to the carbon copy that is dictated by media and valued by the majority. And, the quality of your life deteriorates.

You know that saying, “Health is wealth”? If you’re sick, in pain, or otherwise hindered, it doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank or how big your house is, you won’t be able to enjoy your life. What exactly “health” means varies from person to person. In other words, what works for one person, may not work for another. The health and wellness industry likes to tout products, diets, and exercises as one-size-fits-all, but one size does not fit all. Bodies are unique and have specialized requirements which are challenging to comprehend because we are bombarded with messages that push us to operate from the mind instead of in communion with the body.

It seems like bodies should come with instruction manuals, doesn’t it? “For optimal wellness, do XYZ”? But they don’t and even if they did, the instruction manual would go out of date quickly because bodies are not statues! They are perpetually changing whether that’s due to age, hormones, injuries, or something else. Everything is always changing.

Because bodies don’t come with instruction manuals, how the heck are you supposed to know what yours wants?!? Simple: You ask. It may seem like a foreign concept to talk to your body, but the body is ready and waiting for you to talk with it, to consult it. After all, it is an integral part of you. And, it is already communicating with you, even if you aren’t sure how to interpret its messages. Listening to the body, from the inside, and learning what it needs and wants is a skill that takes practice.

One way to start is by saying to your body as you rise in the morning, “Good morning, body. What do you feel like doing today?” You can also ask it other questions such as, “What do you want to wear today? What do you want to eat today?” and even an open-ended, “Dear body, what messages do you have for me?”

This might feel foreign or silly. It’s OK to embrace silly! We aren’t used to communicating with our bodies in this way so it makes sense if certain judgments arise. Can you allow them and let them go like a bird flying across the sky? You need not even get involved with said judgments directly and argue with them.

What you’re doing by talking to your body is creating a deeper relationship with it and ultimately yourself. There are many ways to deeper the relationship: breathwork, yoga, bodywork, and even going for a walk or a mosey, but it all starts with a conversation. If you have a conversation with your body and recognize it has its own needs and wants, the rewards are potentially rich. You may feel happier, healthier, and more whole. What could be better than that?

Journal Prompts

·      Body, what do you need right now?

·      Body, how can I support you?

·      Body, what type of clothing do you want to feel against you today?

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