Are you listening?

Are you listening?

Are you listening to what your body is telling you?

Are you listening to what your heart it telling you?

Are you listening to what your gut it telling you?

Are you listening to what those who love are telling you?

Are you listening to what your doctor is telling you?

Are you listening?

I have been in physical pain for months.  Sometimes the pain has been so agonizing that it prevented me from sleeping. Sleeping is a time of healing.  And yet, I chose to ignore what my body was telling me.  Why would I continue and ignore the signals I was receiving? As with most things it’s not simple explanation, however, it’s not that complicated.  I am a single working mom. I love the work I do. I don’t like to be slowed down. I didn’t want to admit that I was injured and needed rest.  I told a good friend “I am going to keep working until I get a diagnosis that tells me I can’t or shouldn’t.”  Why?  I was looking outside for validation that it was okay to rest.  Not only that it was okay, but it was necessary to rest.  When you have a history of co-dependency, you have often put your own needs aside for those around you.  Even with all my training and understanding, I ignored my own needs.  Are you ignoring any of your needs? Sometimes we must be brought to our knees with the pains in our life to make a choice for change.  I had to hit my own painful bottom to be willing to listen.  It ended with me having to pay out-of-pocket for my MRI to be told to rest.  I chose not to listen to my body. My friends. My gut. Now, I choose to use the tools I have learned with yoga therapy and recovery to allow my body to heal. I choose to make the time and space to rest.

Are you listening? What is screaming for your attention that you are choosing to ignore? Who are you listening to?  What is your body telling you? How can you listen?