Your Body Talks… What Is Yours Telling You?

Are You Listening? I Was Not Listening To My Body Talk At All…

I am fortunate maybe even blessed! In my 46-years I have only experienced severe pain three times; when I almost crushed my ankle in a car accident, when I compound fractured my wrist rollerblading, and when a shingles outbreak covered forty-five percent of my face.

Saturday, April 29^th as I attempted to get out of bed I was jolted to my feet with shooting pain down my right leg. It felt like I was being electrocuted. Over the next 27-days, I struggled to sleep and working or writing was damn near impossible because sitting and laying were not options.

During this time I came to dread the nights. After 2 to 3 hours at a failed attempt to sleep, I got up seeking pain relief however possible. Aspirin, Tylenol, and Advil provided no relief and I was not injured so we had no prescription strength painkillers of any kind.

My 3:00 AM routine started with a 104° epsom salt bath, pain relieving essential oils, rolling on my rumble roller and stretching. Walking seemed to be the only thing that provided relief so if that all didn’t work I commenced to pacing the house. It was 32 days before I got a full night sleep. This experience came with a few pearls of wisdom.

1. Sleep Fuels The Brain
   A good night sleep is priceless. Our brains do not function at optimal levels when we are sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation can cause mood swings, clumsiness, disorientation, impaired performance and significantly reduced cognitive thinking. The National Sleep Foundation recommends the following hours of sleep by age range.

2. Approach Pain With Compassion
   I have a soft heart, but being as healthy as I have been my whole life I did not have much compassion toward those with chronic pain. On May 20^th, Beth Moore posted the following tweet. “Treat the pain of others like it might be yours tomorrow. They could not have imagined being in their situation either.” Her word hit with such humility my eyes filled with tears. This was day 22 of my struggle with pain and oh how this spoke to my heart. Today I look at pain through a completely different set of eyes.

3. Sitting Should Be a Hobby, Not a Career
   I run a digital media company by day and write by night and weekend. For 9 years my husband has preached, “You SIT too much!”. Although I was back in the gym working out 4 to 5 hours a week that effort did not stand a chance at reversing the damage caused by me sitting for 55 to 60 hours a week. I have since converted my desks for standing and have a rule to not sit longer than 2 hours at a time. I embraced my Fitbit with 12,000 steps a day walking in the mornings and evenings and indulge in a deep tissue massage every three weeks . Listen to Newton’s first law of motion, “A body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion”. Now when my body talks, I listen.

4. Gratitude In The Midst Of Pain
   One night as I got out of the tub my body became engulfed with firing nerves from my mid back to my toes. The pain was so intense it was hard to breathe and all I could think to do was pray. I paced the bathroom praying for peace, strength and for the pain to disappear. Over the course of this ordeal, I prayed asking God what he wanted me to hear in my pain? On my daily walks, I spoke prayers of gratitude over my eyes that see, nose that smells, ears that hear, and hands and feet that move. I have so much to be grateful for even in the midst of my physical pain.

It is my wish that you listen to your body. Take extra special care of it, it is the only one you will ever have. Wishing you long life and good health. Which of the 4 pearls of wisdom above spoke to you the most and why? Share below I would love to read it. Share with your friends… 🙂