Coach Kirsten Larsen

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July 21, 2021

How to Listen to Your Body’s Signals for Optimal Health – EPISODE 5

How to Listen to Your Body 

Paying Attention to Your Body’s Signals for Optimal Health

Episode 5


Your body is a marvelous creation! It speaks to you when it’s doing great, and it also speaks to you when things aren’t so wonderful. But that’s the beauty of it – your body gives a ton of signals to let you know it’s in need of something so you can do what’s necessary to achieve optimal health.

Use these strategies to tune in to what your body is telling you:

  1. Assess how you feel each morning. The early morning hours are usually ideal for you to listen for your body’s signals. At that time of day, it’s usually very quiet, so you can pay closer attention to the physical signals. Each morning, determine whether you feel different from the morning before.
    • Determine if you experience any new aches when getting out of bed.
    • Figure out if you wake up feeling lousy, even after a sound night’s sleep.
    • See if you wake up with any ailments that you didn’t go to sleep with.
  1. Compare the effects of different food choices. As you go through the motions day by day, it’s sometimes tough to maintain proper nutrition. Especially if you’re always on the go, you may end up making some poor food choices. As you do that, however, it’s important to see what kind of impact your food choices have on your body.
    • Do you find that you’re more energetic when you have the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables?
    • How effective are you in the gym after you’ve spent a day eating junk food?
    • Does your mind function better at work when you eat vitamin-rich foods?
  1. Know your body’s physical capabilities. Although you may consider yourself healthy and in good shape overall, there’s just so much the body can manage. Whether it’s exercise or mental work at the office, it’s important to know your limits so you don’t end up burned out and physically exhausted.
    • It’s okay to work out until your muscles feel worn, but you’ll know if you’ve overdone it if the recovery time is longer than you expect.
    • The same goes for mental exhaustion. You’ll feel like you’re coping through the long, stressful hours at work until you realize you’re motionless in bed when you should be up getting ready for work!
  1. Get comfortable with asking your body how it’s doing. Even if this sounds weird, I really encourage you to give it a try. Just like we underestimate the incredible intelligence that children have at even a young age, we can also really misunderstand our bodies. We try to push them beyond their capabilities, but they are really actually shouting out loud, ready for us to simply slow down enough to listen.

Try journaling and asking a few of these questions:

  • Body, how are you doing today?
  • Pain, what are you trying to say to me?
  • Body, what do YOU need in order to heal?
  • Body, what do you need in order to thrive?
  • If this body part had an emotion, what would it be expressing?

Paying attention to your body’s signals is a crucial part of maintaining good health. Remember that you rely heavily on your body to take you through the ins and outs of daily life, so you’re better off protecting it! Listen to your body’s signals and act accordingly!

Try declaring over yourself:

  • I listen to the signals my body sends me.
  • When I listen to my body, I am happier and healthier.
  • My body signals to me when it is hungry. Hunger tells me that it is time to eat. If I only eat when I am hungry, I maintain a healthy body weight. My body lets me know when I eat something that is unhealthy for me. It informs me when I eat too much.
  • My body tells me I need to rest. When I feel fatigue, I respect my body and rest or sleep.
  • My body is wise, so I listen to what it has to say.
  • I avoid the urge to override any of the signals my body sends me. I give my body what it requests. I listen to my body and make the best decision I can under the circumstances.
  • Today, I respect the signals my body provides to me. I trust the wisdom of my body. I work with my body instead of against it.

Self-Reflection Questions:

  1. When do I ignore my body signals? What are the consequences when I do this?
  2. What are the ways my body communicates with me?
  3. If I listened to my body more, what would happen?

 

If you’d like to go deeper with more affirmations & declarations, as well as a worksheet to create your own, download my FREE Workbook below!