Habit 4: Listen To Your Body
The systems in the human body have not changed much in over 100,000 years. It knows what it’s doing. When we were children we knew exactly how to respond to the signals from our bodies. When we were hungry or lonely we cried and experienced painful emotions; we allowed ourselves to be comforted and then moved on. When we were tired we slept, and when we were happy we laughed. When we were energetic, we moved.
Then we got a little older and things changed. We had to conform to other people’s schedules for eating, sleeping and playing. We learnt to dissociate (that is, to separate ourselves) from the physical and emotional signals within the body, and started to ignore what it was telling us.
Over time we learnt to ignore the pain of hunger, having to eat what we were given, or of being ignored, blamed, punished for not eating, and so on, until we didn’t know how to recognize those feelings any more. By the time we are adult and expected to feed ourselves, it’s not really surprising that we can’t hear our body’s internal voice.
Luckily, our body is still sending us the messages. All we have to do is learn to tune into them again.
Habit 4 In Action
The simple rules of thumb are as follows. When you’re tired, get yourself some sleep. When you’re hungry, eat. When you’re thirsty, drink. When you’re lonely, find a friend. When you’re playful, play. When you’re energetic, move. If you overdo it one day, give it a rest the next. Being aware of your body allows you to become aware of everything that is around you in more depth. Your world becomes more awake.
The Fluid Approach
Compare your feelings about food with the way you feel about water. When you get thirsty, you have a drink. It feels nice to satisfy your thirst, and when you get really thirsty, you might even find yourself craving a refreshing glass of chilled water. However, once you’ve had enough water, you don’t keep drinking. You stop and wait to get thirsty again. In this way, water is best when you’re thirsty, just as food tastes nicer when you’re hungry.
Interestingly, people who are out of sync with their feelings might confuse the sensations of thirst and hunger. The next time you fancy ‘a little something’ to eat, try drinking a glass of water instead. You might find that you are dehydrated rather than hungry.