Cultivate Self-Awareness By Listening To Your Body
Apr 08, 2021
“To know yourself, you must sacrifice the illusion that you already do.” – Vironika Tugaleva
{Written by Jason}
Lately, I've been reflecting on the subjects I learned in school. As I reminisce about certain teachers, classes, friends, and lessons, it dawned on me that a lot of really important life lessons were completely omitted from my formal education, such as:
How to manage money properly
The importance of eating healthy
Preparing for life as an adult
Managing my mental and emotional health
Listening to my body and honoring its needs
Wait, let's zoom in on the last one, shall we? I don't ever remember any of my teachers, family members, or friends talking about the importance of cultivating self-awareness, listening to my body, or honoring my intuition. These are all concepts that I became aware of much later in my life and continue to practice to this day.
In our Wellevatr program Wellness Warrior Training, we receive weekly assessments from students in the program talking about their challenges, struggles, and triumphs in life. One topic that comes up on a frequent basis is the difficulty that our students have with learning their bodies and listening to what they need. So let's explore some various methods and practices to cultivate more self-awareness, presence, and the art of listening to (and honoring) your body.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – Carl Jung
1. Pause and breathe before taking the first bite
This is a simple way to practice self-awareness by slowing down and savoring the first bite of a meal. Oftentimes, we are so busy that we rush through a meal and don't even remember what it tasted like. By pausing, taking a breath, closing your eyes, and really being present with your food, you can cultivate more appreciation for the meal along with becoming more aware of when you're actually full. Spoiler alert: various studies have shown that when you are 80% full and stop eating, it may actually extend your lifespan. Yea to caloric restriction and digestive efficiency!
2. Create a daily awareness journal
This is something that you can incorporate into your daily practice. Keep a journal on your desk, kitchen table, countertop, or wherever it will grab your attention. Start to write down any moments in your day where you felt that you were disconnected from your body, ignored your intuition, neglected to speak up for yourself, or any moments where you feel you could have been more aware of what you were feeling. This allows you to see if there are any patterns in your daily behavior that ignore your body's needs and provide you an opportunity to make new and more honoring decisions for yourself.
3. Scan and sense your body
One of the most important practices during my daily meditation practice is where I scan and sense my body. You can do this practice sitting quietly and closing your eyes. Begin scanning your body very slowly with your imagination and begin to "sense" parts of your body by focusing your attention there. For example, you can start with the very top of your head, working your way down to your eyes, cheeks, and neck. Then continue to your shoulders, arms, chest, torso, back, legs, and feet. It's important to focus your attention on truly feeling and sensing each body part one by one. The compounding of this practice can lead to more awareness and sensitivity to your body.
4. Practice listening and honoring sensitivity
Speaking of sensitivity, it's important to listen to your body's requests. It's too easy to become ensconced in your workday, your to-do list, and other people's demands, often to the detriment of getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, and moving your body. By becoming more sensitive and listening to your body's requests, it will tell you exactly what it needs. And by the way, there's nothing wrong with taking a midday nap, going outside on your lunch break to get 20 minutes of sunshine, or having snacks and water ready to nourish yourself at a moment's notice. Sensitivity helps you pay attention and give your body what it needs to thrive.
5. Be consistent and be flexible
Having a consistent daily self-care routine is important to honor your body. However, there may be times that you need to modify or change your diet, workout routine, meditation practice, or supplements. Your body completely changes on a cellular level every 7 years. Knowing this allows you to pivot and modify your routines to honor the new version of yourself. Perhaps it's time to experiment with some new foods, new movements, and new practices that honor your body's needs right now (not the body you had 10 years ago!) The spirit of radical experimentation and conscious curiosity will lead you to some interesting new paths and practices in your life!
"What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself." – Abraham Maslow
You are not a fixed, rigid creation. Your body is ever-changing; cells are dying while new ones are being created. You are healing and rejuvenating every single day. It's important to realize that as you grow, evolve, and change, the means to nourish your body and generate the awareness to meet your individual needs become more important as you age.
So ask the hard questions. Try the things that make you uncomfortable. Taste a meal you've never eaten before. Practice listening to your body. Don't be afraid to make a mistake – part of the journey of knowing who you are is also realizing who you aren't!
"Self-awareness involves deep personal honesty. It comes from asking and answering hard questions." – Steven Covey
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