Learn to listen to your body

Know yourself -
Learn to listen to your body

By Hanne

We live a life full of technology, and technology also allows us to gather and gain a lot of information about ourselves. Various devices tell us when we should move and rest. Or how active our day has been, and whether our sleep quality has been excellent and restorative. But, should we know and understand all this without any kind of equipment? Should we know our bodies so that we can make these conclusions ourselves? In this post, you will get simple tips on how to learn to listen to your body.

Know yourself -
Learn to listen to your body

Let me ask you this. Do you have a watch measuring your activity or a ring on your finger to do the same? We live in a time when we are very technology-positive, and while the purpose of the devices mentioned above is undoubtedly good, do these devices help us listen to ourselves? Do we learn to know ourselves and our bodies better? Do they promote our self-awareness?

I recently wrote about stress and how important silence is these days. Moments of silence are the moments when you can observe your body’s messages. Among other things, this simple stress management technic has made me think a lot about whether the gadget on the wrist that tells us to be more active takes us closer to well-being?

Do different devices increase our understanding of ourselves? Or do they give us an easy and quick answer to what’s going on in our bodies? Without us having to understand ourselves and our bodies any more than we did before. So, are we actually listening to our bodies more? Are we able to get closer to ourselves with the device, or are we still drifting further away from ourselves? I will tell you my own experience over the years and with it my views on the matter.

Hooked On Gathering Data

Once upon a time, I was very passionate about tracking my heart rate. I think I have stopped doing it about six years ago. But back then, I downloaded my workouts from my heart rate tracker directly to my computer and kept an exercise journal. I thought it was very convenient to have all the data viewed on a computer.

In hindsight, the best thing about it was that I saw countless exercises in the journal. I had been effective. I didn’t look so much at what had happened in my body during the practices. Sometimes I starred my workout and wrote “ok workout” next to it. Energy consumption during exercise was probably the most exciting thing to follow at that time because that time was also a time of struggling with an eating disorder.

While running, I remember constantly monitoring the heart rate and staying within a specific heart rate range. And it, of course, is essential if we aim for a marathon or other competition, as I did. However, I did not learn to listen to my body through monitoring. An excellent example of this is a marathon where my heart rate monitor went “mad,” surrounded by hundreds of other heart rate monitors.

I was totally lost, as my running plan in the race leaned heavily on monitoring, and when it was out of the game, I had no idea of my own running pace or heart rate. I had thought carefully about the race in advance around a specific heart rate and pace, and I couldn’t do it without a meter. I didn’t know how.

It is an excellent example on how useful devices may end up directing our lives. And it is not the best direction especially since our attention is constantly being taken outside of ourselves.

Well-being Cannot Be Outsourced

The fact that some gadget in our hand is telling or urging us to move is undoubtedly a good thing, in a way, because we easily remain nestled in the couch. Still, I feel that the urge to move our bodies should rise from within, not outside of ourselves. Does it when we are constantly relying on someone or something to remind us of it? Has the idea from the practice been on your mind the whole day, in a way that you can’t wait to hit the gym or go for a run?

A good question you could ask yourself is, am I going to the gym or jogging out of my pure desire to do good to my body? Or is there some other reason behind it, like the fact that your activity gadget says so? What if you stay on the couch? How do you feel then? Is that feeling a good feeling about yourself?

What if the device tells us that our sleep quality is downright poor? Are we then taking over our well-being and doing concrete things to improve the quality of our sleep? Or are we witnessing the situation without actually doing anything about it?

You cannot outsource your well-being, as that desire for it needs to come from within. Your activity gadget may be a good motivator initially, but what happens when its fresh charm wears off. Then you again have to find the reason and will to support your well-being from within.

Learn To Listen To Your Body

How to listen to your body? The first and straightforward step is to listen to your body. How to do that? You can listen to yourself by spending time alone, without any gadget.

Take a few deep breaths and observe your feelings. Are you relaxed, tired, or maybe tense? Do you notice tension somewhere in your body, or are you tensing some part of your body?

If you feel restless, go for a short walk with yourself without your phone. In case your body feels tight, do some stretching or short yoga practice. If you are tired, take a nap if possible.

Even if activity devices are a part of your life, try not to let them control your life. Let your body guide you to health and peace of mind. You can rely on the information provided by the gauges, but don’t abandon yourself. Your body knows what it needs as long as you give it a chance.

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Hi, I'm Hanne

I am a yoga instructor and personal trainer dedicated to holistic wellbeing and natural living. On my blog, I share insights and practical tips to help you find balance and harmony in your life.