I have been very ill for the last few days. I very rarely get sick and it completely wiped me out. However, he reminded me how well our bodies tell us what it needs in all situations.
Unfortunately, it was a stomach bug, which meant he didn’t feel like eating anything and even the water was a bit dangerous. Interestingly though, the old “wives tale” of the lemonade ice block actually works and is the only thing I felt or my body could contain for the first two days. (So at least I didn’t get dehydrated!)
When we find ourselves in a situation like this we have to listen to our body, we have no other choice. So I went to bed and rested and slept as much as I could.
So why don’t we listen to our body when it’s fine? It’s because we have the energy and ability to override it and have often become disconnected from our body’s natural instincts so we can no longer hear or feel what it’s telling us. Imagine how well our body would work for us if we did exactly what it tells us all the time?
It is very important to eat when we are really hungry, eat exactly what we want, stop when we are satisfied and go do something else until we are physically hungry again. These are the 4 principles of the Food Cycle.
But what should we do when we are not hungry?
1. Recharge: rest, relax, get enough sleep, do things that bring us joy
2. Energize – move our bodies. Find something you like and do it regularly, it doesn’t have to be every day and it doesn’t have to be aerobic. just move. Your body will love it physically and emotionally.
3. Stimulation – We all need something to enlighten us, to feel valued, that we are contributing. Boredom leads to a lack of motivation and procrastination often finds us in front of the pantry or the fridge!
4. Higher power – or inner connection. An opportunity every day to just stop and be, to connect with yourself. This could be prayer, meditation, art, music, fishing, walking in nature, or something creative. It’s time to just turn off the business of life and stress.
You don’t have to find a lot of extra time for these things, as they can often be combined. I walk every day in the beautiful park next to our house. It has many paths that meander through beautiful fields, the bush and along the river. As I walk I can recharge, energize and stimulate myself while connecting with my higher power. Magic.
So this month I encourage you to think about whether you are meeting all of your body’s needs adequately or staying active by overeating, drinking alcohol, or even overworking yourself. Eventually, your body will tell you that you’ve had enough.