"They” say a lot. NYT articles, IG, YT, health books… everyone gives advice. What guides you to listen to media advice or to follow the rhythms of your body?
What a wise and compassionate way to illustrate the tension between "expert" advice and the expertise gained from listening to what our bodies have to say, Julia! Thank you. Learning to just accept ourselves as we are and then to appreciate our bodies seems to me to be a lifelong practice. It's not simple, but the rewards bring such grounded peace. My body speaks louder the more I don't listen--I'm pretty stubborn and determined to always do things my way! Almost all of the injuries I carry like stories speak of the times I absolutely refused to listen to that insistence voice and hurt myself in the doing. You'd think I'd learn, and I have, but I still forget to honor the voice of my body's experience. Blessings to you and that "shy limb" that is teaching you acceptance and patience. :)
I really appreciated this piece, Julia, especially as I also wrote about fitness this week through the lens of acceptance. It’s also funny how we all have these little rules that we pick up from who knows where and incorporate them into our lives as if they are law.
Yes. it’s funny and so heartbreaking. My clients very dearly want to be healthy and reduce their pain. They are bombarded with “shoulds”, most of which aren’t great advice for whatever their situation is. Then they’re left feeling like a failure. And in general, the advice to “listen to your body” is so vague and foreign to folks, they don’t know how to use it meaningfully. So then people are stuck, not knowing how to proceed. Sigh. Humans are funny creatures. I’ll look for your piece this weekend. Thank you for letting me know about it! It’s nice to meet a kindred spirit.
I'm nodding along as I read this. We are bombarded with shoulds, most of which we already know, and our inability to do it just reinforces our feelings of shame and disappointment in ourselves. And most of us don't have a framework for connecting with our bodies, and if we've had trauma, it's even harder. I'm grateful to have discovered intuitive eating and then an intuitive eating-certified therapist because it gave me the framework that allowed me to do the work.
What a wise and compassionate way to illustrate the tension between "expert" advice and the expertise gained from listening to what our bodies have to say, Julia! Thank you. Learning to just accept ourselves as we are and then to appreciate our bodies seems to me to be a lifelong practice. It's not simple, but the rewards bring such grounded peace. My body speaks louder the more I don't listen--I'm pretty stubborn and determined to always do things my way! Almost all of the injuries I carry like stories speak of the times I absolutely refused to listen to that insistence voice and hurt myself in the doing. You'd think I'd learn, and I have, but I still forget to honor the voice of my body's experience. Blessings to you and that "shy limb" that is teaching you acceptance and patience. :)
It’s funny, isn’t it? How many times we know what’s best but don’t listen? I’m a master at that!! Thank you for sharing your comments, Susan.
I really appreciated this piece, Julia, especially as I also wrote about fitness this week through the lens of acceptance. It’s also funny how we all have these little rules that we pick up from who knows where and incorporate them into our lives as if they are law.
Yes. it’s funny and so heartbreaking. My clients very dearly want to be healthy and reduce their pain. They are bombarded with “shoulds”, most of which aren’t great advice for whatever their situation is. Then they’re left feeling like a failure. And in general, the advice to “listen to your body” is so vague and foreign to folks, they don’t know how to use it meaningfully. So then people are stuck, not knowing how to proceed. Sigh. Humans are funny creatures. I’ll look for your piece this weekend. Thank you for letting me know about it! It’s nice to meet a kindred spirit.
I'm nodding along as I read this. We are bombarded with shoulds, most of which we already know, and our inability to do it just reinforces our feelings of shame and disappointment in ourselves. And most of us don't have a framework for connecting with our bodies, and if we've had trauma, it's even harder. I'm grateful to have discovered intuitive eating and then an intuitive eating-certified therapist because it gave me the framework that allowed me to do the work.
I look forward to reading more about your journey.