I went to see an intuitive healer a few months ago and as I was sitting across from her the most pressing message she had for me was  – LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

She went on to say when you are in the habit of ignoring your body it takes something catastrophic to get your attention. (Not what you want to hear from anybody ever.)

While I was sitting there I was nodding my head in agreement but I was really wondering what she was talking about.

I was there though wasn’t I? And you don’t go see a healer or an intuitive unless you have something you want to know about that you haven’t been able to figure out on your own. I was expecting something different. Something that resonated more.

The funny thing is that while I was sitting there I had a toothache. I’d had it for a day or two and I knew I needed to call the dentist but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. I even had the thought that she must be referring to something bigger than this minor toothache. I let another day go by. That night I woke up at 4am in excruciating pain. What followed was two months of dental work, not one but two root canals, each tooth with it’s own set of complications, more painkillers than I’ve taken in my whole life combined, and more work to be done in September.

So in actuality she was correct. I was not listening to my body. I was telling my body – be quiet, work hard, run, go to bed, wake up, look good, be strong, eat this, drink that – but I was definitely not listening. In fact, I didn’t listen until it gave me no other choice.

When she told me to LISTEN TO MY BODY, I realize now that I didn’t relate because I didn’t know what that meant. When it comes to the body I’m used to working from the outside in. I’ll take information that has worked for others and impose it on my body. Things like:

Exercise consistently, do more cardio, do more weights, hit the gym, get outside, do yoga

Eat paleo, keto, vegan

Drink more water, don’t drink too much water, drink it hot, add lemon, add apple cider vinegar

Get up early, go to bed early, get enough sleep, don’t oversleep

Stress is bad, stress is good, stress in natural

And so on…

However, trusting that my body knows what it wants and how to be healthy is far more difficult. I’ve never given it that authority. I’m pausing more. I’m asking myself more questions and magically there are answers for me that I hadn’t heard before. So gradually I’m learning to listen to me more and to others less. I hope you will too. I have a feeling there is a lot of peace in that for both of us.