Listening to Your Body Compass Through Intuition

We all have an Inner Compass that knows the direction of our right life - the path to peace & liberation from suffering. But, how do we access and align with this inner-knowing in our daily life? 

We have all been there – a bit confused about next steps, unbalanced, maybe a bit depressed or resentful, and just feeling like your life is off course.  And, rather than getting curious about why you are there, you numb a bit and lose your ability to think for yourself.  So, you just keep going – sometimes with little direction.  

But, in the quiet, you realize that your life might not look anything like you thought it would.  For me, it was 20 years ago on the yoga mat doing a cleansing twist.  Tears fell with a release - an indicator.  And, it was also recognizing clashing identities in my young-adulthood; wanting to make my professional mark and be the best mom I could be.  I felt friction, but I just kept going with an ever-growing pit in my stomach.  This friction finally gave way in the last few years as I allowed it to surface and gained clarity. 

So, does this mean for you? Are you willing to pause and see what is at the root of your discomfort?  What is your body telling you?  The further we go away from our intuition, the more our body communicates. 

In the Way of Integrity, Martha Beck references symptoms that arise when we a stop listening to our truths:  Feeling Purposeless, Emotional Misery, Physical Deterioration, Consistent Relationship or Career Failures, and Bad Habits you can’t break.  If any of these ring true for you – that may be a place where you are out of alignment with your instinctive wisdom. 

But there is hope. Imagine living a life FULL of Integrity, intact and whole. When we let our mind connect with our body, we are led in this way. This not an instant change, but is about listening in and making one-degree turns toward your best life.  Every single choice is a chance to listen and turn toward the light.

So, how do we practice listening to our internal compass?  You can try it right now. Get quiet and take a few deep breaths. Remember a really tough time in your life - as if you were going back into a movie about it.   Note what you see, feel, hear, are doing, etc.  Immerse yourself in that scene for a few deep breaths and notice how your body responds.  List the sensations or physical feelings you are experiencing.  Now, give those feelings a name.  Next, do the same with a very BEST time in your life.  Do the same.

See how your body knows what tastes like freedom, the feeling of expansiveness and light…and, see how it also feels when it is constricted, tense or heavy?  This is how you calibrate your body compass.  Now, every decision you make from here, be aware of your body, listen to what it is telling you, and have a clear knowing about what is true and best for you.  This simple tool helps to make decisions simpler, diminish stress, align with your values, and live in your authenticity.