Tuning in to your body’s needs

An important concept in the “intuitive eating” world is the ability to tune into your body and be able to respond with what it needs in that moment. An attunement disruptor is anything that interferes with this ability. Disruptors could be thoughts, distraction, rules, beliefs and/or a lack of care for ourselves.

To be able to truly hear or feel what our body needs, we need to be in a calm and cared for state - not stressed out, juggling commitments, under-slept or underfed.

In these situations, our nervous system is likely in a sympathetic dominant state - fight or flight mode! When we are geared up to escape a threat (physical or - more likely - psychological) we can’t tune into our needs! Remember, under-sleeping, overexercising, under-eating, and illness are all “stresses” as well as psychological stress.

Self-care isn’t just going for a massage or lighting a candle (although that’s pretty nice!), it’s about being able to tend to your physical and emotional needs everyday. This means working on implementing a healthy routine, fostering caring and supportive relationships and having an environment (and boundaries) that allow you to tend to your needs.

Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch - two big names in the intuitive eating space - suggest that we need self-care in four categories: physical, emotional, spiritual (or perhaps, thoughtful/mindful) and with our boundaries.

Have a think about some positive actions or behaviours you have in place that help you be able to listen to your body. Do you get a good night sleep most nights? Do you eat regular meals throughout the day? Do you communicate your needs with your friends, colleagues, family?

Now think about some behaviours that might be disrupting your ability to tune-in. Do you tend to skip meals during the work day? Do you multitask while having your lunch? Are you able to disconnect from work in the evenings? Do you set limits or boundaries with technology, work, friends?

These are just a few of the many ways we can either foster or disrupt our ability to be able to listen to our bodies. What is one thing in each category (physical, emotional, spiritual, boundaries) that you could implement to improve how you feel?