Listening to your Body

In just about every yoga class that I lead, I say some variation of these words: “Listen to your body. Only do what feels right and good today.” I provide my students with examples  --  “Perhaps today is a day we take more rest.” Or alternatively, “Maybe today is a day we are full of energy and can challenge ourselves in a new way.” I encourage students to modify their poses and practice to fit their needs for that day, remembering that every time we come to the mat is a unique experience.

It is fairly easy to feel when something is “off” or when we are out of alignment in our yoga practice. If a knee slips past the ankle, for example, we most likely feel an immediate twinge and use that pain as a signal to shift our weight back. Or if we normally can bind in a pose but are unable to today, we know our shoulders may be tighter than usual.  When our bodies provide such cues, we listen. We modify the pose, we take a rest, or we scale back.

Off the mat, it can be much harder to listen to these cues from our bodies and make adjustments. Perhaps there are situations in our lives that are causing us stress or anxiety. Is a certain person is sapping all of our energy? Is our work-life balance tilting greatly in favor of work? Does a significant change have us feeling anxious about the future? Any of these situations can manifest themselves physically – tight shoulders and necks, clenched teeth and jaws, exhaustion from too many commitments, and more. Yet how often do we ignore these physical cues and forge on without complaint?

Next time your body sends you a physical cue, I’d encourage you to stop and think about what it means and its source, be it a person or situation. Once you have identified the root cause, think about what adjustment or modification you can make to heed the cue. For example -- do your shoulders automatically tense up to your ears when you encounter a certain person? If so, perhaps it is time to think about ways you can limit your interactions with him or her. Is there a certain time of day you tend to get anxious at work? If so, perhaps a brisk walk can help shake off some of the anxiety.

As I close my classes, I always say, “Let’s strive to be as good to ourselves off the mats as we are here on our mats.” Easier said than done, for sure, but a goal well worth the effort.

Be well.

Accountability

Recently, I finished a course on life coaching for yoga instructors, focused on taking the practice of yoga “off the mat and into life.” It was a great class, chock full of thought-provoking discussions, exercises, and readings. One of the class requirements was to do a set number of practice coaching sessions on willing participants, following the prescribed “coaching model.”

I was very nervous to dip my toes in the coaching waters for a variety of reasons. However, I forged ahead and in the end, I had many great sessions. I learned a tremendous amount about what struggles my friends and students are facing on the health and wellness front. Finding time to exercise, emotional eating, and health concerns were common themes. In the sessions, I helped these clients narrow the focus of their overarching issues and develop some short-term action items to help move them forward towards their wellness goals.

I had some sort of follow-up session, either in person or via email, with each client. A common theme in all of these follow-up communications was accountability. Several women shared that knowing that I would be checking in on their progress, they were truly motivated to work on their action items. Trigger foods were removed from the house, appointments were made, food logs were started, exercise schedules were created and followed, and more.

It was very gratifying to see the progress these women made in a relatively short amount of time. Often, just pausing to think about our goals (wellness or otherwise), write them down, and then share them with someone who will support your efforts, can spur us into action and subsequent success. And very often, this initial success inspires us to work even harder.

This is not to say we all need to go hire a coach to help us work towards our health and wellness goals. I do think it is essential to have a partner or support system helping you along the way. Is there a friend you can partner with to do weekly check-ins on your fitness goals? Perhaps you can explore an online community to support your weight loss efforts. Consider enlisting your spouse to check in with you during your “stress eating” hours. Think outside the box and aim to be accountable to someone other than yourself.

Be well.