Mind-body balance, a way to optimum health

How can you find out how to tune up your body if you’re not in tune with it? We are only just as a society, re-learning how to connect with the signals of our body’s higher intelligence

I first realised that I could “read” peoples body when a lady came to me for healing some 20 years ago. She had a back problem caused by both early childhood issues where emotions had remained stuck in her body (everything is energy) and long stints sitting in front of a computer.

When I placed my hands on her shoulders, I started to get pictures in my mind of foods, water, minerals and supplements. One that was very strong was an image of cherries. I asked her if she had consumed cherries recently and she said “no but I have been fancying them for a while”. I placed my hands back on her shoulders, this time not for the purposes of healing, rather to see what else her body was revealing to me.

Then a lot of information came: a long list of foods that her body didn’t like and upset her stomach or caused her negative physical symptoms, such as headaches, bloating, sleepiness, upset stomach, constipation, diarrhea etc.  Then a list of foods that the body did require. She completely concurred with the information that her body had given her through me. She was happy to implement the suggestions into her life and was very delighted with the results.

We do stop listening to our body from an early age. A baby might spit food out as they don’t like the taste or texture.

A loving mother will try again as she is informed that that rejected food is in actual fact good for her children. A baby will eat slowly, and not necessarily because of the absence of teeth. This can be frustrating for a working parent who is under time pressure. The baby is intuitively eating at the correct speed for them, they have no concept of time. 

A baby will also stop eating when they have had enough, perhaps leaving food on the plate. Social conditioning will tell us “Come on be a good girl/boy, eat all of your food up” - the baby’s body knows when to stop; when enough is enough. You will also see a baby explore its food, using its senses to send messages to the body and brain about what food has been presented to it. Instinctively it will smell its food first and then lick it.

Smelling food is one of the body’s natural defence systems, “does this smell good/fresh?” allowing for the body to reject the food as this stage if it feels its something that might potentially harm. The baby will then use its tongue to lick the food internally asking itself “what does it taste like?” and subsequently signalling to the body which enzymes need to be released in order to begin digestion. Of course, these behaviours are natural and at the same time in most cultures not socially acceptable, so they are drilled out of us.

With age and awareness of our environment and societal pressures, many of us then embark on diets and eating regimes that really don’t serve our bodies. We become addicted to the white stuff.. sugar, and subservient to stimulants such as coffee, alcohol and so on. At some stage we stop listening to our body. The internal voice then becomes so quiet that we can no longer hear it nor heed the subtle signals that the body gives us.

The body has its own intelligence and it understands exactly what it needs in order to maintain homeostasis and yet we intellectually believe we know better. We ignore the bloated feeling, a sudden feeling of tiredness and other signals. We put up with upset stomach because our tongue and senses enjoyed something that our body is struggling to digest. We think gas, diarrhea and constipation are normal.

We forget that 50% of digestion takes place when we chew our food. As we bolt food down, barely finishing a mouth full before we begin the next, we become disconnected with what we are putting in our mouths. We are often on the computer, mobile, iPad or TV, so we are not focused on the task at hand which is to enjoy the food/ fuel that we are feeding our body and mind.

A vast majority of clients that come for a body tuning consultation, either eat too much, too quickly and are almost always eating unconsciously. Having then followed what the body has told them, through me, a lot of issues disappear.

So next time you fancy something or you have a craving, even if you perceive it is not good for you, then why not eat it? Make sure it’s in its purest form, eaten consciously and with gratitude. Start to pay attention to the clues and prompts your body gives you. Start listening, stop ignoring the body, eat mindfully, with purpose and appreciation.

In the next blog we will talk about the impact of emotions on the body and digestion.