Advertisement feature
‘If you listen to your body when it whispers then you won’t have to hear it when it screams’(Cherokee Proverb)
How often do we rush through our days juggling work, emails, WhatsApp messages, social media and domestic chores while trying to look and be the perfect friend, Christian, wife or mother? We wake in the morning already braced for the onslaught of the day and immediately check our phones. We are just too busy to listen to what our bodies are saying.
When was the last time you actually stopped to smell the roses? Or watched the sunset just because it was there? Or had a slightly longer shower and enjoyed the water on your skin? Or allowed yourself to connect with the ‘vehicle’ that enables you to live your full and busy days?
I lived with moderate levels of stress for a long time, ignoring my body when it asked me to slow down. My sleep was affected, my jaw was tight and sore, even my teeth hurt. I suffered from headaches and migraines, I was grumpy and shouty a lot of the time! I was not making good decisions, I was eating badly, putting on weight and at the end of the day my brain was foggy and tired. I had totally forgotten how to have fun and I didn’t like myself or the impact that I was having on those around me. I knew I had to make some changes before I got ill, but I didn’t know how.
I was rescued in a surprising way when I stumbled across the world of somatic therapy, now of course I know it was the Lord’s guidance. Soma means body in Latin and somatic work is simply learning to pay attention, on purpose, to what your body is saying and learning how to‘speak’ back to your body in the ‘language’ it will understand.
Our bodies are not just a tool that we can use and then discard at the end of life, they are a significant part of our identity. We cannot separate our head or our thoughts from it andwherever we go our body comes too! Our bodies are vital in the Kingdom of God, they are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and when Jesus rose from the dead, He rose in His body, a body that carried the scars of his earthly life.
I have spent a couple of years doing the surprisingly fun, easy and rewarding task of unravelling my nervous system and resetting myself to feel better, think better and relate better. It has been a great adventure with the Lord. I have also trained in how to pass this on. So, if you are interested in The Embodied Course (four online sessions) then please do get in touch. Nervous system work is very hopeful because we are fearfully and wonderfully made and can rewire ourselves at any age! www.bodykindness.co
