Saturday 14 July 2012

Listening To Me

I hear this over and over from yoga teachers and ME specialists. Listen to what your body is telling you and take the right cues.It is so important. It has always been important to me, with my epilepsy and needing to be aware of what's going on around me. However it is not what is happening outside the body, it is inside the body that is important.
Listening, or being aware of my body has become the intrinsic pattern I need to keep and improve every day of my life. I'm sure everyone has lifted some shopping into the car and felt a twinge, only to continue with the day and feel even more of a twinge when finally it is time to cook the evening meal and the idea of standing in the kitchen for an hour is just not something that the back wants to do.
The core of my body, the biggest clue, can be found in my breath. One of the yoga online teachers I use puts breath awareness posts on her Facebook page, for example:
Yoga Empowered (link)
"Check in Break: How does your body feel right now? How about your mind? Does your breath reflect that? Without judgement - begin to smooth & even your breath. Do this at least 2 more times today. ^o^
I now check in with my breath regularly during the day and as a consequence my breath is slower and longer.
If I was constantly scanning my body and getting paranoid about every itch and twinge I would be doing the wrong thing, just causing more anxiety and filling my lungs with short sharp panic stricken breaths. Instead I am aware of how tired I might be, but I don't just say "oh, I'm tired, I'd better just carry on with what I'm doing and still be tired" I actually make choices throughout my day which reflect what I find. I decide whether changing activity might stop the tiredness, whether doing a bit of yoga stretching might stop my back aching, whether a lie on the the bed with an audiobook might be enough of a rest, or whether a meditation or sleep might be even better. By learning what my body is saying I am treating it better and making choices that are right for me, not right for anyone else. I'm listening to me and I'm coming first.

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