(Sonia Choquette)

This is a very powerful question, “what does my body NEED right now?” But it’s also a very difficult question to answer as it requires being able to quiet the chatter of your mind and to learn how to deeply listen to the whispers of your soul. I ask myself this question most days, particularly on the tougher days and really listen for the answers, as I have learned the hard way that the body is a temple, what we put in, we get out and it deserves to be treated with tenderness, care, kindness, understanding and love.

It seems that over the last few decades, we are being conditioned to just keep going, to keep pushing on with life, with work, with family, without taking much time to consider the effect of this erratic and demanding way of living on our bodies. I personally have never been taught (before introducing Mindfulness, Kindness and Compassion into my life) to praise my body, to listen to my body and to its subtle or not so subtle signs and messages that it continuously sends to my heart and soul. Before this, I would have found it absurd to actually ask my body what it ‘NEEDS’ in any moment and even more absurd to listen and hear the responses to this question, until I learned the importance and power of doing just this!

So why do we find self-love, self-care, self-compassion and self-kindness for our bodies or indeed our minds so difficult? I guess it’s because, it can be a daunting and unfamiliar experience to turn ‘WITHIN’ ourselves, to tune into the fine frequencies deep within our hearts and souls. It can be uncomfortable for many of us to get to know our ‘true selves’, our ‘true souls’ as we are so used to just making and pushing our bodies to perform, to operate, to live. It takes courage to confront, to calm, quieten and disconnect from the stories and uncertainties that our minds will always try to convince us of. A quote I love to illustrate this is:

“Go inside and listen to your body, because your body will never lie to you. Your mind will play tricks, but the way you feel in your heart, in your guts, is the truth”

(Miguel Ruiz)

So what can we expect to hear back from our body when we ask it ‘what it NEEDS right now?’ The most common replies will most likely be sleep, better rest times, balanced nutrition, water, exercise, quiet time to rest your mind, time to spend with family and friends, time to spend in nature, time to connect with and care for ourselves and others. I feel that by continuously checking in with and tuning into our body and granting it whatever it is that it truly needs in any moment, we can live a more balanced life in the mind, body and soul. We can learn how to delicately protect our body by honouring it through active listening and therefore, we can prevent it from getting to a stage where we crack, we break, we fall apart as we are burned out. A quote to illustrate this is:

“If you listen to your body when it whispers, you won’t have to hear it scream”

(Project Happiness)

Once you learn the art of connecting with and listening deeply to your body and its messages and signals, the next part of the process is to learn to honour your body by letting go of all the pressures we regularly put on ourselves, the demands, the expectations and just ‘grant’ your body whatever it is that it needs. This is by far the hardest part because it requires making space and time in your day, in your life, for self-care and respect, in what ever shape or form that works for you. But this is the most magical part of the equation! As you listen more to what your body is telling you and as you actively implement its suggestions, you are honouring and taking care of yourself on a deep, personal, intimate level and your body will respond by helping you to feel empowered, energised, compassionate and deeply connected to your soul and you will be able to live more peacefully, with inner calmness and an enriched and nourished respect for your amazing body!

A thought to leave you with:

“Take Care
Rest your mind to stay healthy
Rest your brain to think positive
Rest your soul to keep your body alive”

(Diya)

How to ASK, LISTEN TO and RESPECT ‘what your body NEEDS right now’:

The following is a guide on how to ASK, LISTEN TO and RESPECT ‘what your body NEEDS right now’:

• During the normal moments of your day, form the habit of asking yourself ‘what does my body NEED right now?‘
• Listen intently and notice any guidance or signs that your body may send you in response. If you feel that something is not working for you at the moment, this is your ‘gut instinct’, your ‘soul’ communicating with you. You just need to really tune in and listen.
• Be courageous and respectful in granting your body whatever it is that it needs in any moment. If it is sleep, then make time to take an extra rest in your day or to go to bed earlier. If it is better food choices, tune into how the foods you eat make you feel. If it is fresh air, make time to spend some time outdoors.
• Notice any signs or signals from your body that you may be overloaded, you may be under too much stress and pressure. Your body may need you to do absolutely nothing, to just let yourself be as you are in your moment. If this is the case, trust that you are enough and grant your body what it needs.
• Express appreciation to your body for the incredible work it does to keep you alive every day. Develop a deep and nurtured connection with your body so that you can hear the whispers of your soul.

Noticing and tuning into the beauty in nature

Thank you as always to Brian O’Loughlin at The Westmeath Examiner and his team at Celtic Media Group (https://www.anglocelt.ie/, https://www.con-telegraph.ie/, https://www.meathchronicle.ie/, https://www.offalyindependent.ie/, https://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/ and https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/ for all their wonderful help!

As published by The Celtic Media Group w/c 22/2/2021

Sometimes, we can feel so overwhelmed by the general pace of life, trying to keep up, our work/life/family balance and all we can hear is that little voice inside our mind telling us how exhausted we are, how we will never catch up, that our situation and related experience will never change, that we are not good enough, that we will never be good enough, what’s the point in even trying?

But when we learn to be more kind and compassionate towards ourselves, towards these thoughts, emotions and feelings, we start to realise that maybe we are entitled to feel this way, maybe it is ok to feel and experience these things but we then also realise that maybe there is a better, more productive, more caring approach to dealing with and experiencing these thoughts, emotions and feelings, while getting through our day and feeling calm and happy in our mind and body.

So now, when I am feeling tired, sickly, overwhelmed, annoyed, confused, like there is no breathing space, I ask myself ‘what does my body NEED right now’? I ask my mind to move over and to let my body truly tell me what it needs in order to process how it is feeling and to start to feel more comfortable, balanced and stable.

Most of time my body will scream to me, “you need to go to bed early tonight, you need to get out for a walk and breathe in the fresh air, you need to ground yourself outside with Mother Earth, you need to do your yoga, you need to take an Epson salt bath with relaxing essential oils, you need to inhale a nice essential oil diffuser blend to clear away that sinus pressure, you need some quiet time in your mind so you can clear the internal storm, you need to take 5/10/15/20 mins out to listen to a relaxing meditation or to just sit in your own presence and use your breath as your anchor point to your present moment, you need to drink more water to re-hydrate, you need a nice hot cup of tea and maybe a little square or two of chocolate, you need apply your essential oils to your temples and the back of your neck for that headache or to your lower back for that constant back ache or have a relaxing massage, you need to get a hug from someone, you need to give a hug to someone, you need to play and get silly with your children until you can’t breathe from laughing, you need to hold your cat on your knee and feel the gentle rhythm of her breath and listen to the hum of her purring, you need to brush your dog, you need a call a friend, you need to turn off your phone, you need to disconnect from social media for a bit, you need to clean out some of the clutter that’s been driving you crazy in your home/office”!!! So many things our body may need to help us to feel better but most of the time, we can’t connect or hear these signals or clues from our bodies as our minds are in full swing, in over drive, telling us that nothing will help us feel better or demotivating us.

The interesting thing about this is that most of us already know the things we ‘want’ or ‘need’ to do to help us to feel energised, happy, motivated, to enjoy life, but when we listen more to the constant chatter, downgrading, anxiety, second guessing that our minds love to invade us with, this is when we can fail to see just exactly what it is that our bodies need in any particular moment.

This is how Mindfulness, Meditation and a general overall Wellness approach to your daily living can help to calm the constant storm of thoughts, emotions and subsequent feelings that you experience. Mindfulness and Meditation can help you to live in an increased state of pleasant awareness to your present moment and it gives you the coping tools and techniques to deal with whatever challenges or difficulties your present moment may give rise to.

Please have a look at my website www.leonamcdonnell.com for further information and guidance on how you can adopt a more mindful approach to your everyday living! For information on courses, classes, workshops etc, please give me a call on 087-4161842 or email me leona@leonamcdonnell.com

Leona McDonnell

Leona McDonnell Mindfulness and Wellness