What Does Your Body Have to Say About It?

🎧 👉 Prefer audio? You can also listen to me share about this in podcast episode #029 here.

Today I want to share something that happened to me recently where I was reminded how amazing our bodies are in giving us instant signals that can help us make decisions.

I was in a little bit of a funk about something a few weeks ago.

As much as I practice not having expectations and detaching from outcomes, I do still catch myself having them at times, and the way I notice when this happens is that, typically, I find myself feeling disappointed.

There are many resulting feelings of expectations, and for me, disappointment is the most obvious.

Because I was still sitting in that disappointment, I wasn’t in a mental space to see opportunities and possibilities.

I started feeling backed into a corner about a decision I needed to make and feeling like I had no choice but to do something I had no desire to do.

As I was sharing this with a coach friend, she challenged why that was the only option and why couldn’t I do this other thing instead.

As I started talking about her idea, I noticed a strong instant reaction in my body.

My throat opened up, my shoulders dropped, my voice tone smoothed out, and I felt lighter. I even saw on the Zoom screen that I got taller as my posture straightened. And the super cool part is that I caught all of this instantly. I remember I commented on it, too, as I was so thrilled to notice it all myself.

I really do make a consistent effort to listen to my feelings, my body, and my intuition every day, yet it is all still a practice because—Breaking News: I’m still human.

I don’t always notice the subtle signals that can happen in an instant, especially while considering a decision.

There have been many times I’ve been in a session with a coach or a therapist, and they’ve commented on signals they noticed, and thankfully they brought that awareness to me.

And them noticing these things helps me get out of my head and start noticing them too.

All of the little sensations can add up to a really obvious message.

Then I can see all the possibilities and get unstuck so that I can move forward on something in a way that actually feels good.

So the fact that I was talking through something with a friend, who also happened to be a coach, was a key element here. She asked me a few questions to get me out of my woe-is-me black-and-white way of thinking.

It really does help to have a coach, mentor, good friend, or therapist to be able to talk something through with because they can hold a safe space for you, ask you questions to expand your vision of something, and help call attention to the physical and emotional signals that may not be as obvious to us when you’re stuck in your head.

If you are interested in seeing if I'd be a good fit to be your coach, reach out to me here.

“Your body is your best guide. It constantly tells you, in the form of pain or sensations, what’s working for you and what’s not.”

– Hina Hashmi, a clinical psychologist

🎧 👉 Prefer audio? You can also listen to me share about this in podcast episode #029 here.