Listen to your body
Our bodies show our histories — how we have lived. Working as an editor, I spent a lot of time sitting in front of my desk. Last year, after several months of piled up work, my back began to hurt. The pain did not go away even after a few months. Pain is a messenger. Pain is a signal that change is necessary in our lives.
In May, I participated in a dance workshop. Bari, who led it, said, “We learn the most from our bodies.” Listening to her, I looked back on how I had ignored the voice of my body. When I was busy working, my work always took priority over health.
Our bodies continually talk to us — sometimes whispering, sometimes shouting. When our bodies need rest, they give a signal such as pain or other symptoms. At first, the pain may be bearable. However, if we keep ignoring the signal, it may turn into an unexpected, more serious symptom.
Why do we pretend not to hear the voice of our bodies when it’s small? Many of us listen to it only when our bodies become unable to bear any more stress. Even after we suffer from a serious illness, it’s easy to forget the past pain and go back to our old lives. The habit energy is so strong. Nevertheless, health is the basis of a happy life.
Taking part in the dance workshop, I decided to pay attention to the voice of my body. After dancing in the workshop, my body felt lighter the next day.
Bari called moving our bodies while listening to them “tuning practice.” We can tune our bodies by dancing, doing some stretches or yoga, going for a walk and in various other ways. To play beautiful music with a guitar, tuning it is necessary. Likewise, we too need to take good care of our bodies for a beautiful and healthy life.
In her book “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom,” Christiane Northrup asks, “How would your life be different if you learned how to love and respect your body as though it were your own precious creation, as valuable as a beloved friend or child?”
Of course, we can’t control all the elements of health. Nonetheless, we can do many things to take good care of ourselves. Our bodies know what to do and what not to do. If we learn how to listen to our bodies’ wisdom, we will become healthier and be able to share it with other people. Being kind to oneself is also beneficial to others. In her book “Seeds for a Boundless Life,” Zenkai Blanche Hartman says, “It’s very hard to be kinder to others than you are to yourself.”
Following the voice of my body, I walk on the soft soil on the nearby hill nearly every day. There my body and mind become relaxed. May we all be healthy, listening to our bodies.
Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/everythingchanges) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel "Little Lord Fauntleroy."