Well Being
Forget the mind for a second, it’s the body that really matters
I’m just going to be honest. This week I’ve found myself in a real funk. I haven’t been as motivated to do things, and I’ve found myself falling into the trap of thinking that the harder I am on myself, the more I will push myself, or rather shame myself, I will suddenly move into action. And then I start noticing all the things I haven’t done, one of which being, I haven’t given much thought to writing this blog. And because I’m then coming from a negative place to start with, I don’t want to do it, because whatever I produce won’t be good enough and will just be a real pile of crap. Obviously, this is an excellent frame of mind to start any task from… Our bodies are speaking to us And then I realized something and decided to cut myself a little bit of slack. I’ve got a physical issue that has flared up at the moment. It’s called vestibular neuritis just in case you were wondering, and it’s a condition that affects my right inner ear. When it flares up, I get really dizzy and the entire day feels like I’m riding on a boat on the high seas, and I can’t get off. Needless to say, this kind of sucks, as it often affects my ability to concentrate, to feel focused, to feel like a normal human being. It’s a boat ride without the beautiful view, and with a bit of constant low-level nausea. Hooray. The realization I had is just how important the body is to our full sense of wellbeing. I should know this right? I am a yogini after all. I even taught yoga for years. But the reality is that most of us don’t. We do yoga for exercise and to look good in our new Lululemon top. We often talk about mind, body, spirit connection, but we tend to prioritize the mind, humans being the hyperactive creatures that we are, our noggins just never seem to turn off. And we treat our bodies as a bag of bones that we drag behind us in the quest for enlightenment and fulfillment. Sure I need to feed it well. And drink plenty of water these days if you live in Texas like I do, it’s hot out there! But what I’m talking about goes beyond the maintenance needs of day to day in terms of things like food and sleep. Tune into your body – what is it telling you? Our body is sending us messages all the time. And we need to learn to tune into them and listen. As opposed to ignore and push through the discomfort like is the normal tendency of many of us to do. “Give me the drug. Give me that pill that will make me forget about it.” I’m realizing this is the way I used to handle this condition, which I’ve had since my early twenties. The result was that during a flare […]
June 23, 2022
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4.2 min read