One of my students recently said “I can’t hear my body the way you do. I don’t know when I’m about to get my period, have no idea if I’m getting sick and definitely don’t know if there is any trauma inside of me.”
Stop the press.
Ladies. Gentlemen. We need to talk.
The number one reason a person cannot listen to their body is because they are not willing to slow down long enough to hear the whispers.
As a solo mom, the most precious thing to me in the world is my time. Time spent with Zyan, time alone, time for work, space for friends and family, allowance for ritual and ease. As an entrepreneur, each day looks different than the next as I try to squeeze as much joy, work and good intentions into the “daylight” as I can. If my work schedule looks like I may not have enough time with Zyan, I adjust. If my Zyan time is beautifully long hours and my body starts saying “remember me?!” I make sure I put a yoga class on the schedule and PLAY.
In knowing how precious my time is, I value every moment I have here on this earth; especially the challenging moments as they teach me lessons and awaken my soul.
Because I value my time, I am fully aware of each whisper happening within my body.
This week, my left shoulder was on fire. I said to my mom and two friends; “That is so weird, generally my left shoulder only hurts when something is happening under the surface and everything seems amazing right now.” I had launched our Gala announcement, taught teacher training all weekend long and was on an energetic high like no one’s business. 24 hours later I got a call that shifted my energy and although it threw off my day, I knew enough to take off my last class and get a massage in order to make space for healing as quickly as possible. The body knows. If you slow down enough to hear the whispers, the body will tell you what you need to know.
When the interaction with my student happened, I quickly said: “Don’t worry. It took me years to cultivate, you’ll find it.” It was a quick response to a much deeper answer that I hope to unfold and here.
It took years to cultivate an awareness to my body, mind and soul.
When I first began yoga I was dieting constantly and always a similar weight. I ate salads with fat free dressing and diet coke. I drank soy milk because I didn’t like milk and knew it had calcium; plus my roommate told me it was good for me. I also had my first bite of broccoli because in my house, vegetables were iceberg lettuce, carrots and italian dressing that consisted of our daily salad. I had literally zero concept of what I was putting into my body.
When I first began yoga I wanted to achieve every posture as perfectly as possible. I would sit at the front of the class and try to fold my body into the same shapes as Ashley Deleo’s mom and pray that I was getting half pigeon perfectly. I would lower my hip to the ground and think oh my gosh, I’m enlightened. I ROCK at yoga.
When I first began yoga I was getting pneumonia or bronchitis every winter, writing in my fat journal daily and OM’s made me giggle.
Now I’m rarely sick, fuel my body with nutritious foods, hydrate like a camel and promise my body weekly self-care in order to heal any hidden trauma. I hide crystals in my bra, sage our home secretly when my mom isn’t home and can tell you when I’m starting to get sick a week before any symptoms arrive.
How did I get here?
I began to listen.
I began to slow down.
When we make time to slow down and listen to our bodies, we can connect truly to what it is we need on every level.
When is the last time you had a bubble bath? When was your last massage? When you walked your dog last night, did you gaze up at the stars or gaze into your cell phone? On vacation, did you put the work down and walk away fully from your boss and the stream of emails? And when your mother in law came to visit for a week this summer, did you let your hair and shoulders down in order to enjoy her company or allow her to take the kids to dinner so you and your husband could have a night alone?
It’s time to slow down. It’s time to listen. It’s time to create space to heal.
To start, take an hour a week. You could take this as a full hour and enjoy a massage or grab a cup of coffee with your spouse before school pick up. You could take them in mini 15 minute meditations. You could create three small rituals for surrender or self-care.
Slowly increase from there.
I didn’t wake up one morning enlightened. I didn’t wake up and decide to add spiralina to my smoothies overnight. I did it all gradually. A bite of broccoli here. A single leave of spinach in my smoothie. A sip of a friends kombucha. A moment to nap, because my body seemed like it needed sleep.
Remember, soul warriors : ONE. STEP. AT. A. TIME.
Need a first step? Come to my Autumn Equinox Flow on September 24th & burn your intentions as we transition into fall and flow together. Or join me on Cape Cod for the Love Yoga Fest as I teach Empower Your Spirit on September 23rd.
xx + namaste,
Jenny