What are body messages?
As I teach the ladies in my tribe, think of it like a knock on the door. It is one of the ways your body talks to you.
Let me give you an example from my own life…
My latest project of taking my nutrition practices and my business to the stratosphere in the online world is so scary, yet so exciting all at once. I have fears just like all of you. Fear is a normal emotion. It means that we are working outside of our comfort zone, which also means that we are growing.
My comfort zone didn’t include being in front of a camera because of my body image issues. It was hard enough to look at myself in the mirror, let alone have someone take a picture of me.
I have conquered this fear by working on my body image during the past three years. Am I now super comfortable to be in front of a camera? Certainly not, but I feel much better about it than I did before. I can now see beauty when I look at a picture of myself. I can see now what others see…because we are all beautiful. Yes, we are.
This weekend was another one of those moments in my life — professional photo shoot with a designer, makeup artists, and the best photographer in town.
Body messages
I felt nervous for 3–4 days leading up to the shoot.
I was anxious and craving carbs.
My body was tense which, for me, equals pain in my lower back.
I had poor sleep quality the night before.
I listened and observed my body messages with interest. I realized that this experience was a huge and significant step for me in my life journey because of the intensity of my body’s messages. I didn’t worry about the “symptoms” (body messages) or take a sleeping pill or supplement to help me sleep. Rather, I enjoyed the process. I felt all the sensations that represented the messages my body was trying to send me, and I was grateful for the growth that was happening within myself.
How to listen to your body messages
What are your body messages when you are working outside your comfort zone?
Do you listen to your body messages or do you simply ignore them?
Do you find that your body messages are just an annoyance?
Do you feel that you can’t wait to shut them down with food or any other drug of choice?
Guess what happened the day of the shoot? I had the best time of my life with the best team. I shared with my team, consisting of three people that I had never met before, my life journey and my anxiety about the day.
I allowed myself to be vulnerable and I shared my story in a positive way so they responded with nothing but love for me. Without their support, I couldn’t have put my true self out there and the pictures wouldn’t have been nearly as gorgeous and powerful as they are. I’m so grateful that I have crossed paths with these three professional and loving human beings — Nikki, Luis and Onna = xoxox. I will forever be grateful to have met you.
Listen and Feel
Listen to your body messages (aka symptoms, disease, discomfort and imbalances) with care, patience and love.
Feel your body messages — the intensity, the location, when, where, and how they come.
Learn from your body messages.
Make decisions in your life based on your body messages and on the communication between you and your body.
Everything happens for a reason and works for the best possible outcome.
Originally published at www.stephaniedodier.com on November 1, 2015.
Originally published at medium.com