I want to say the quiet thing out loud…Our bodies are our allies
I want to say the quiet thing out loud– Our body’s are our allies. When we take a breath and listen, we can get insight, drop into a more grounded space and also honor its warning and signals.
I was a master at overriding my intuition. I’m a planner, a high achiever and someone who loves to get shit done. I used to live a life where I was always in high energy, always on the move, engaging in the next thing before I had even processed what I had just experienced or completed. This worked…….at some level..
I thought this was the way:
Setting new goals, saying yes to all of the events, invitations and experiences, going full steam ahead until ………..I hit the goal. Once I achieved said goal, I would double it and get moving full steam ahead, again. I look back on the season when I built my coaching practice and realize 2 things: I missed a LOT AND robbed myself of the joy of literally having what I created. I ignored being tired, I put myself on a ‘think about my business all of the time’ schedule. AND I let my mind criticize SO MUCH along the way. THAT created a lot of energy but wasn’t truly helpful. I think that criticism’s solution at the time was to work harder.
There was a season of self awareness as I coached a lot of clients in burnout during the pandemic that I saw ways I was buying into the same invitation. The same pattern i was helping my clients heal from was something I had bought into in the previous season. The most important practice that moved me from this was honoring what I wanted, literally creating an embodied vision of what success looked like going forward.Thus the article on dreaming I wrote this month. Here it is if you missed it. This was a practice of embodiment, even though I didn’t call it that at the time.
I calmed down. I learned how to handle emotional triggers. I learned to give myself permission, to envision the next, embodying the emotion of already having the thing I was working on. This was the beginning of an grounded and embodied approach, just the beginning, I lived all in my head for a long time.
I overrode my intuition for much of my life. It didn’t feel safe for a lot of reasons. Once I decided to start trusting myself more deeply, I engaged with a coach that was a beautiful guide to understanding all of the feelings I was having when my marriage collapsed. I am so thankful for that season. It opened up a way for me to honor my emotions but also all of the signals.
I started learning ways of helping my body to process emotion. Frankly, walks in the woods weren’t my first choice. Kickboxing and running were. Get that jaggedy anxiety out of here!!! Then as I understood my triggers more I could let that tightness in my chest dissipate as I observed it and allowed it (instead of fighting it).
Our bodies hold our wisdom, they are also beautiful processors (breathwork for example), exercise and just being in nature. I’m a woman who has had her share of body hate. No longer, I am in reverence and awe. My body guides me and helps me to see what is true, it has warning signals that I’m getting out of alignment, it gives me intuitive hits and glimmers all of the time.
ENOUGH of my story.
Ignoring our body invites burnout. Ignoring our body dims our wisdom and clarity. Not understanding the signals our body gives us (triggers, etc) can leave us confused.
I entered a season starting in 2025 to invest in embodied practices. It was yoga, then more walking, massages and retreats where all of the senses were explored. Now it is slowing down (eeeerrrrggg) due to a shoulder injury and not losing my mind because I can’t move in the way I’d love to. She (my shoulder) is going to be ok if take care of her vs moving too fast.
After reading this article, what is your invitation?
The life you want next, the big pivot you are guiding, the success that you really want, will come when you let your body lead your mind.
Whenever you’re overwhelmed, rattled and know that you’re doing too much. Take a pause and let your intuition, your body tell you what you need next. It’s been waiting for you to pay attention.
xoxo,
Diana
P.S. Is there a colleague that would love this newsletter, just share this link and they can join the party.