Befriend your Body

Modern life in the industrialised world can make it difficult to maintain connection with our bodies. It is difficult to tune in to the signals our bodies are sending us, or to understand them clearly. Many things can worsen that feeling of disconnection, parenthood for instance! Sometimes even to the extent that our body seems no longer our own. When we don’t feel well, we can easily feel that our bodies are actively working against us (hello autoimmunity!).

I am suggesting that a way forward can begin with treating ourselves with kindness. Understanding that our bodies are always trying to protect us the only way they know how. They just make mistakes sometimes, which is understandable in a world that our biology has not evolved to understand. We can learn to hear what our bodies (and minds) are trying to tell us, and how to give them what they are asking for. Even a few minutes to tend to our own needs can start a positive ripple effect that may be surprising in its scope.