I took a short hiatus from posting because we’ve had out of town guests for the past week. They left today and I’m now looking forward to getting back to my routine. Don’t get me wrong, I love having visitors but it’s often necessary to give up eating and exercise patterns along with any sense of a schedule for the sake of accomodation. It’s a good thing to be able to do this gracefully but one lesson I’ve learned over this past year is that my body knows best.
The body craves balance. I know this because whenever I go on a bender of eating at too many restaurants while on vacation or entertaining guests as I did this week, indulging in desserts or skipping too many workouts, my body feels it. Suddenly it will speak to me and I’ll begin to get healthy cravings: greens like spinach and kale, salads and raw foods (in summer) or home cooked warm meals like soup (in cooler weather), a long run or a sweaty yoga practice.
Just before the weekend, I caught a cold. This was another way my body spoke to me. When I get too run down and out of balance my body tells me to back up, slow down and reset. Instead of pushing myself with a run this morning, I slept in. I also had a nap later in the afternoon. I drank green juice for breakfast and ate a large salad for lunch and dinner. I’ve also been taking supplements to strengthen my immune system instead of prescription or over the counter cold medicines which only mask the symptoms.
When we treat our bodies well, they treat us well in return but when we abuse them, they talk back. Take the time to listen to your body and learn about it. You will get to know yourself on a whole new level and learn the answers to questions like: What do your cravings mean? Where are you lacking balance? How are you pushing too hard and how can you slow down?
How does your body speak to you?
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