blog
What Does It Mean to “Listen To Your Body”?
Coaches (myself included) say “listen to your body” a lot. Feeling tired? Debating whether your weird sore spot is OK or not? Trying to figure out the right intensity level? Listen to your body! Cool. . .but what if you don’t know how?
Listening to your body is, basically, paying attention to how the things you do make you feel. Sounds easy– it’s not. But it is important.
healing, not hacks
In my clinical practice, I get a lot of questions about trendy health topics making the rounds on tiktok and instagram. Some of these so-called hacks are fine ideas for the right person at the right time. But are they the right thing for you, today?
Getting past wellness BS. . .
… and towards body empowerment.
Centering your own wellness can feel like swimming upstream in a society that values profits over people and tells us that some bodies are better than others. Choosing to love and honor the body you live in is a radical act!
Tips for the everyday athlete
The more you move, the more you may start to be aware of what your body can do. You can and should treat your body like an athlete would, even if your “sport” is biking to work, zumba, taking yoga classes, or hitting up Orange Theory once a week. Physiotherapist and all-around wizard Kelly Starrett likes to say that humans should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves. That’s the task of the everyday athlete: take care of the instrument you use to go through your daily life (that’s your body). A little bit of attention goes a long way. It’s easy to ignore this advice until you’re injured, fatigued, or fighting illness, but surprise! It’s also easy to do it. It just takes awareness and intention. What does that look like? I’ll go through some basic good practices for everyday athletes below.
Capturing kinetic energy
The idea of kinetic intelligence under-appreciated. In the U.S., dominant culture dictates you can be a nerd or a jock. If you're a nerd, you're weak. If you're a jock, you're dumb. You have to pick a lane. For most adults, our use of our bodies is rote. We use our eyes and fingers a lot, in service of our "real work". In jobs requiring physical labor, our bodies are tied to productivity (thanks, capitalism). But true respect for physical feats, bodily beauty, body wisdom and intuition? Largely missing. What a loss- how about if we adopt a both/and mentality instead of an either/or one? There would be huge implications for health and happiness.
Why I don’t talk about weight loss
The health world is obsessed with weight. Medical providers talk about it. Health coaches talk about it A LOT. I don't. Here's why.