Every day my body talks to me not just walks or lets me run…
how about yours?
no?
Are you sure?
every joy is moment of expansion in the body. in a word: a yes!
every pain is a moment of shutting down in the body. in a word: a no!
The physical manifestation of you is just that: a manifestation of all of you (your mind, heart, and soul) and is also constantly responding and shifting to every thought, breath, idea, and feeling that you allow to inhabit within you. Yes, you eat and sleep and have ongoing changes in your gene expression. But the subtle, instantaneous changes that come from your thoughts and feelings can be far more profound.
What do I mean?
I’ll give you an example.
Relationship between my mom and I is troubling to say the least. The number of times I have felt true love with no judgement, no expectation, no criticism I can maybe count on one hand. That’s alright. I get it. That’s life. I still try. I visit. I try again. I talk. It doesn’t usually work. So how does my body deal with that? It rejects these trials and tells me. A powerful example of that happened on one of my training runs.
A few weeks ago, I had decided to go for a long distance run, to start building up mileage. I figured a run to my parents’ house (a 13km trek) and back would be a great trip. I could stop in and have a short break early in the morning, maybe even a tea (always ever so hopeful to have a nice visit) and then run back. An out and back run.
It was a mild day but raining hard. I wore a black plastic bag over my neon, super reflecting running gear to keep dry. Other than the rain, and the hills, and being up before the sun, I felt awesome. Running smooth. After a while, the rain disappeared from my mind and nothing mattered other than the legs moving continually forward. I felt great. A couple kilometers from my their house I noticed it. A slight twinge. Hadn’t had any pain or discomfort running in a very long time, so it was very noticeable. A tightening of the hip flexors and a pulling on the side. I began to worry. I varied my stride. I tried stretching in leaps. Nothing worked. As time progressed the pain got worse. I decided to turn around.
I wanted to run as long as possible and knew I may not make it back if I didn’t turn around. I didn’t want to resort to walking. I could have chosen to run to their place but then I may have been stuck there, for a while…not an entertaining scenario. All I could think of was how to keep running with the pain, if it progressed. A runner’s worst nightmare: muscle seizing.
Sad. Humbled. Disappointed. I headed away from my ultimate goal of the longest distance for a run this year and focused on getting back in one piece. After a couple of kilometers, I noticed something different. My hip: was hurting less. I had been running longer, same pace, still in the rain, same path, but less pain. After a few more kilometers the pain disappeared all together. Finished my run strong, faster pace and no discomfort at all. No tightness. Instead of the hopeful 26km, I managed a 21km distance. Puzzled at first by the mysterious pain. But then I realized, it wasn’t mysterious at all. It was simply my body talking to me, as always.
I didn’t really want to run up there. It was the wrong place.
I had focused on the wrong target.
Everyday I set out into the world seeking a place to discover and explore. My body told me that morning, that place was not for me. I have run several runs since that morning and no pain of any kind has appeared. I am grateful for my power, for my strength, but most importantly for the wisdom my body possesses and freely shares with me everyday. I can only hope that my ego and mind doesn’t get in the way too often, so that I may benefit from this wisdom and in turn use it to keep growing stronger every day.
I trust that you can do the same.
Perhaps today you will start listening to your body talking, if you haven’t already.