One of the most important things to cultivate in your journey to healing is resilience.
Resilience is the ability to adapt and recover from difficult situations. This is true in life as in health.
It doesn’t mean to tough it out at the expense of ignoring what you’re feeling in your body or stuffing your feelings down (we already do this too much), but what I mean by resilience is being able to have the tools necessary to move through any difficult situation you may be facing.
We actually do too much stuffing or ignoring our symptoms as a way to cope with the unmanageable pace and rhythm of modern life. We tell ourselves we don’t have the time right now to deal with this. We forge on ahead. This is actually a major cause of illness.
Our bodies are naturally intuitive and it whispers to us when something is wrong. Maybe we’ll get that headache or discomfort in the shoulder or hip or back. Oftentimes we try to ignore these whispers so the body speaks louder. It becomes debilitating knee pain or back pain. If we keep ignoring it, then the body begins to shout. Our symptoms become more chronic, more severe. Over a long period of time, it can lead to more serious health problems, even a devastating health diagnosis.
From the perspective of Traditional East Asian Medicine, chronic illness can develop when there is an imbalance or blockage in the flow of Qi, the vital life force that circulates through the body. When we ignore these signals the body is trying to give us, then our Qi, or vital force gets blocked. This disruption can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, pain, and inflammation and even more serious diagnoses like chronic health conditions, autoimmune disease and cancer.
So what is the antidote?
Slowing down. Not ignoring the language of the body.
Answer your body’s call when it’s trying to tell you something.
Don’t wait until you get hit by a 2x4 to listen. The phrase being hit by a 2x4 means to be hit with a sudden, unexpected, and often unpleasant or shocking realization or event, like being hit with a heavy piece of wood.
One of the most effective ways you can cultivate body awareness is through mindful movements. It’s accessible to you at all times, and you can tap into it at all times. Done consistently, it can have a powerful effect on your mind, body, and your spirit.