Remember a time when you let your mind override your gut feeling — with less-than-favorable consequences? After I had a few of those experiences, I learned to trust my gut and follow my intuition.
As a naïve 19-year-old, I found myself in a couple of very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situations. My gut had been screaming at me to get out, but my good girl mind justifications convinced me to stay. By the grace of God, nothing came of it. However, I got scared enough to start paying attention to my uncomfortable gut feelings. Paying attention to what my body was communicating helped me develop a relationship with my Body Wisdom.
Too many women, like me, learn to distrust their bodies and discount the wisdom their bodies share. Now, I teach my daughters, their friends, other women and men about trusting their Body Wisdom. Over the past twenty years, I have studied my own Body Wisdom intently to learn some excellent gifts. Here are a few tips that might work for you, too. To get in touch with the wisdom of your body:
- Breathe. If you can get to a quiet place, great! If not, create a quiet space for yourself inside. Shift your focus inward and notice how your breath feels in your nostrils and how your rib cage expands with each breath. There are many different kinds of breathing exercises. Doing some type of breathwork is more important than which type of breathwork you choose. To get started, count your breathing. Breathe in while counting to four. Pause while counting to four. Exhale while counting to four. When a thought comes, notice it, and go back to counting while breathing. When you notice you have been thinking for a while, go back to counting your breathing. After a few minutes of breathing in this way, notice how you feel different in your body. Listen inwardly with soft-focused inner awareness.
- Move. Find a private space if you can. Put on some music — soft flute and harp or a strong drum beat — according to your mood. Turn your focus inward. Notice where in your body you feel the music: in your head and chest or in your hips and feet. In BodySoul Movement, you let your body lead. In t’ai chi or yoga, your mind learns specific movements and reminds your body how to move correctly. In BodySoul Movement, you allow your mind to observe how your body moves itself. When I let my mind observe and give my body permission to self-correct during BodySoul Movement, sometimes my movements are graceful and sometimes my body repeats a motion long enough to give me a chiropractic adjustment. Other times I am just still and aware. While moving, notice the story unwinding in your mind and body.
- Notice. Get to know your body. Look at a reflexology chart while rubbing your foot and notice what parts of your body correlate to the sensitive spots on your foot. Slowly run your fingertips over your scalp and notice the bumps on your head. Gently massage your scalp with little finger circles. With the fingers of one hand, look for a tender spot on your calf or forearm and hold the spot until the tender soreness melts. When you hold that tender spot with loving intention, you are nourishing and balancing your body systems.
- Inhabit your body. Feel the chair under your butt. See the colors, shadows and reflections around you. Hear your heartbeat. Be amazed at how your soul brings a spark of the Divine Creator into physical form through you.
One part of developing your intuition is connecting to the wisdom of your body. Tuning into body wisdom helps you make stronger decisions, stay healthy and communicate more effectively with other people. When you create a sacred space for Body Wisdom while breathing, moving and noticing your body, you create an environment where your intuition can grow and thrive.
Leah Skurdal offers an Intuitive Development class series. Her next classes are from 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at The Wellness Circle in Lino Lakes.
