Listening To The Body

One of humanity’s obstacles to living in harmony is the lack of communication between people. Although we also forget that by listening to the body we also listen and communicate with ourselves. However, the pace at which it is usually lived in large cities begins to move to small towns, hindering the fluid and direct communication traditions.

Technological innovation has established new ways of relating to each other. Virtual communication prevails over face-to-face conversation. But, without a doubt, what we have most ignored is listening to ourselves. Because listening to the body we can understand many things that happen to us.

But what do we need to learn to listen / listen to ourselves? The Dictionary of the Royal Academy, gives us the following meaning of the verb listen. From lat. vulg. ascultare, lat. auscultare.

1. Pay attention to what you hear.
2. Listen to, listen to a warning, advice or suggestion.
3. Apply the ear to hear something.
4. In medical science, auscultation: It is the method of listening to body noises during a physical examination.

Listening to the body, we listen to what it needs

At the beginning of the  21st century, people have lost contact with themselves (probably because the technological means of talking to yourself has not yet been invented). The concerns of daily life, job performance, fulfilling the role of parents, professionals, children, shift our attention to what happens outside of us. There are a lot of books and magazines on body care, but the body is still not listened to until a disease appears.

Professionals or people who take on many responsibilities routinely ignore the signals that their body sends them when it is incubating a disease. They do not pay attention to the symptoms that the body experiences.

On other occasions, the person goes to different doctors in search of an immediate cure without results. From one specialist to another with no known physical cause for your discomfort. Until a doctor refers him to the psychologist.

Many people are surprised at such a referral. the stage in which medicine was unaware of the psychological component in the manifestation of symptoms is gradually being left behind. And it is that the body screams what the mind is silent. Listening to the body would avoid many of the problems we have and we would even be able to prevent diseases.

The somatization of emotions

The body expresses itself through pain, or symptoms without the presence of physical causes. Some people who raise a barrier that prevents expressing their feelings, and thoughts somatize what they remain silent.

For example, gastric disorders are related to rabies, just as acne breakouts are often developed by those who lack the skills to relate to others. So what goes wrong in the body carries over to the mind, and what goes wrong in the mind often moves into the body as well, directly or indirectly.

Illness or bodily pain is a wake-up call that directs the body to unmet needs. They suggest at least to pause and evaluate them. On the other hand, those who are inhibited from expressing their emotions, do not make contact with their body. It becomes numb.

The shadow

The shadow is that part that remains hidden from our consciousness. The symptoms lead us to recognize that part that we do not want to see. The imbalance in which we find ourselves will manifest itself over and over again, until we pay attention. Pharmacology seeks to reduce or silence the symptom. Evading its meaning will cause another anomaly to occur.

An illness or pain forces us to recognize what we lack. Integrating and assimilating the meaning of the symptom allows us to harmonize our life. Admitting what we lack is part of the individuation process. It is important to recognize the moment we live when the body speaks . Listening to the body allows us to hear what it is that we are needing.

Frida Khalo, the famous Mexican artist, created the most important works of her career when the symptom of her illness manifested itself with greater intensity. Her frustrated motherhood, disability, and her relationship with Diego Rivero were some of her milestones. Amid the chaos, shine your creativity. The shadow saw light.

The end of the disease is that we make up for what we lack and prevent our free development. Take the opportunity to contact your shadow in those moments of pain, or when another symptom appears. It is an opportunity to meet and learn. Listen to him, don’t close yourself in a shell like the turtle. By listening to the body you can learn great things about yourself.