What Is Your Body Saying?

As always, when something comes up more than twice in my teaching-speaking-coaching life, it’s time to share it beyond the smaller audiences. So here goes.

Our bodies are constantly talking to us. Yes, in the ways we all talk about — feeling pain, having the stress of overdoing anything from exercise to boozing it up slow us down, “Oy, my achin’ back” type stuff — but also in ways like a faster heartbeat, shallower breathing, the relief of saying NO and then feeling that deeper exhale and the relaxation of the shoulders that confirms we did the right thing.

Ahh… just imagining that last one, I feel better.

Thing is, we spend so little time slowing down, checking in, asking our bods for their opinion on all sorts of things… and then we’ll hear from our bodies in sometimes very “rude” ways, since they’ve had to do something dramatic to get our freakin’ attention after all.

One upon a time, I would work-work-work-work-work sooooooooo hard for sooooooooo long and my body never made an objection. And then I’d finish the project, turn in the paper, hand off the cast… and get sicker than I had been in a long time. (Since the LAST time I was sick after a big stretch of work.)

Possibly my body was making lots of little objections that I just would not hear. So, to make sure I took breaks, I would get sick enough to have ALL the reason in the world to say NO.

Wait a sec. I have to be SICK to say NO to someone about something?

What kind of fucked up patriarchal capitalistic nonsense is THAT?!?

Okay, so back to the recurring theme in my meetings lately: We’re talking about how we know the difference between an external SHOULD (AKA patriarchal programming) and a gut instinct about whether something needs to happen.

Here’s where my relationship with my body pays off: I always know.

And now so can you!

See, the brain? The logical, pragmatic, reasonable brain does a LOT of talking in full sentences, complete paragraphs, massive freakin’ dissertations about why something needs to happen, and how.

The gut? Her setpoint is below the brain. It’s neck-down for where the messages are showing up. IF there are words at all, it’s usually a single word. Maybe two words. And often a half-a-syllable or a non-verbal “sound” we perceive.

And when the brain is using a bajilliondy words to guilt, goad, push, prod, manipulate, mansplain, and whatever else it takes to GET ME to do a thing, I say, “It’s not you; it’s the patriarchy.”

As I devote more energy to really *hearing* my body’s messages, I find I make money WITHOUT sending a sales email I was really beating myself up about not having sent yet. I find more things in life to be effortless. I let go of a lot of things I never controlled in the first place.

I live with ease.

Just by adding *one* little beat between the moment I feel I need to DO SOMETHING and the moment I make myself do it — and in that moment, by checking in with my body to find out where the message lives — I do more things that are aligned for everything I want to receive in life.

Shocking, how grand the results are.

Oh, and never again crashing after working myself to death… because we never get well if we’ve taught our bodies the only rest we’ll get is when we’re too sick to work. All it takes is providing the rest that a BALANCED life craves… and then our bodies — and our lives — reward us in miraculous ways.

I’d like for you to try this out with me!

I’m going to be hopping on a livestream at 1pm PDT on Wednesday (check your time zone here). Yes, there will be a replay. [SCROLL DOWN] I’ll be broadcasting at at bonniegillespie.com/live as well as pushing through to Facebook and YouTube! So, pick your favorite platform and let’s DO this!

Also, I have some fun Clubhouse appearances happening this week as well! Click through to my EVENTS calendar for all the goodness and I look forward to bumping into you out there in the world where we’re doing everything we can to make this world a more safe place for everyone to be. #StopAsianHate

I look forward to having time with you soon!

’til then… listen to your body, y’all!

Much love,