"But I'm not stressed in my head so that's all good"
“Awareness is the greatest agent for change”
- Eckhart Tolle
Yep that's good, but what else do you notice? 🤔
This is a conversation I had with a client the other week in the physio clinic. We'd been working together for awhile primarily on a niggling back injury that kept rearing it's head.
Prior to telling me they weren't stressed this client had just told me
💡 They were feeling quite tight in their back again
💡 It was taking a bit longer to get warmed up before work outs but then it was ok
💡 They'd recently started a new job so were getting used to a new routine with work, kids, commuting etc
When I asked "what else" they said
💡I feel tight around my ribs, like I can't take a deep breath
💡Even though I have time to sit down and chill out in the evening I find myself looking for something to do
💡I guess I feel a little bit more rushed to get to places on time
Now let's be clear. This client wasn't struggling. They're functioning at a high level in life - working, parenting, eating well, sleeping well, getting to the gym several times a week. By many standards you could say they're smashing it...but this client could tell something was a little off kilter.
(Cue me being super proud of the self-awareness they've been building as we've worked together 🙌 )
Learning to pull apart any of our experiences into multiple different facets is a huge part of building your self-awareness skills. It's not just about what you notice in your thoughts and emotions (often those are the obvious ones)....your body and your behaviours will also reveal ALOT of what is going on in your nervous system.
Our body and mind work closely together to let us know when we need to pay attention....but are you listening?
🍃 The feather-light touches...early warning signals that tell us we're in danger of veering off course
🤦♀️ The smack in the face....when things are getting more off kilter and you need to do something
🚛 Getting run over by the truck......you've ignored it so long that it's going to shut down...cue burnout, mental distress and poor physical health.
For this client in particular, I didn't need to do do any standard physio stuff. Once we shone a light on the big picture they knew what they needed to do to reset their course. That's the beauty of knowing how to drive your brain and body in the direction that you want it to go.
How about you?
What do you notice about how you're feeling right now?
What is your body and mind telling you about what you need?
What small win can you action in line with those signals?
~ Kirsten
