What an amazing tool we have at our disposal…a tool that can help us understand how we are doing, how we are feeling, what needs to be addressed, and what needs to change in our lives.

I don’t know about you, but it took me many years before I realised that my body was sending me constant messages, let’s call them ‘alarm bells’ that were trying to make me aware of my physical and emotional situation. I had never listened to them, simply because I didn’t know!

The first time my mind decided to look into what was going on within my body, was when my left foot decided to start itching and covering itself with a rash. It happened suddenly and I couldn’t understand what the reason was. So, after trying different foot creams and every single recommended supplement or essential oil on the market, with no effective results, I thought to myself ‘maybe my foot is trying to tell me something that is beyond the physical problem!’.

As the good researcher and curious person that I am, I started an extensive investigation on it! First online to know what kind of information the internet was providing, and then within myself, by asking questions about the feelings my foot was causing me.

Here’s what came up from my first ever mind-body investigation:

1. The problem was on my foot. The feet represent moving forward and also stability. This made sense to me because at the time I was feeling stuck, and needed a push to take action towards the next step in my life.
2. Itchiness. This symptom can be associated with stress, and feeling irritated. Yes, at the time I was feeling stressed and frustrated by being stuck.

My mind was fighting between wanting to move forward, not knowing how to do it, and feeling stressed because I felt like I couldn’t take that important step that was going to lead me where I wanted to go. Everything made perfect sense. I decided to assess my life situation, specifically what I needed to do in order to move forward, and most importantly, what was holding me back from achieving my goal.

As I mentioned, I was feeling stuck in the situation I was in, change needed to happen, and I felt ‘itching’ to go and have new and different experiences in my life. At the same time, I felt like I had the responsibility to stay where I was, responsibilities towards my family, and the life I had created up to that point. The thing is, something didn’t feel right, I was staying in a situation that didn’t feel comfortable anymore. I was basically staying stuck so that I could make other people happy instead of listening to my own needs and desires.

I am sure so many of us have experienced this.

I found relief in my foot the moment I made the decision to follow my inner self and to do what was best for me. I moved away from what wasn’t making me happy anymore and embraced a new chapter of my life which was focused on my needs.

Making that decision wasn’t easy because that led me to set boundaries with others and to stop listening to their opinion of me…I am sure you know the feeling…it seems like everybody else knows you more than you know yourself, or you should do what is ‘best for you.’

When, in reality, others share their opinion based on what they think is best (for you) which might be completely different to what you actually think and know is best for yourself. Even when done with the best intention, others’ opinions and advice are not always the right ones for you.

It was hard but I did it. And it was one of the best decisions of my life.

By sharing my personal situation, I want to emphasise how much the body is connected to the mind. We all know that feeling of ‘butterflies in our stomach’ when we experience euphoria, right? But the body is constantly sending messages for us to listen to.

For instance, think of a time you had a fall or stubbed your toe. What emotions did you experience? Possibly fear, worry, even anger. The fall you have experienced has created a shock in the system, essentially a trauma whether it be big or small, causing a domino effect of you feeling certain emotions in that moment. These emotions can then become trapped and stuck within the body if they aren’t honoured or acknowledged.

I often hear stories of people who injured themselves whilst playing sports, and that injury required multiple surgeries. Even after surgery and years of physical treatment, the pain kept coming back. So why is that?

It’s not just about what your body has experienced physically. It’s what that experience meant to you emotionally, and what feelings are uncovered once the injury or ailment has occurred. I believe that every physical symptom has an emotional component to it. It just makes sense.

So, if you listen to your body carefully, what is it trying to tell you about yourself, your life, and your emotions?

When I became a holistic therapist, this whole new world opened up for me and I started to notice the mind-body connection within my clients; how what they were feeling was coming up through their bodies in the form of symptoms such as aches and pains, skin rashes, headache, stiffness. Fascinating, isn’t it?

When we become aware of which suppressed emotions are affecting our physical body, we can start listening to these signals and therefore bring harmony to our emotional and physical health, by taking action. In fact, feeling an emotion is not just a psychological experience, we experience it with our whole body.

I was talking to one of my lovely clients, who gave me permission to share this, who told me that a few months ago, a fall caused her ankle to twist. She had pain that made walking difficult and uncomfortable. She has started to see a physiotherapist, after each session she felt better but the pain kept coming back.

I mentioned to her that there might be some trapped emotions within the ankle. I asked her specific questions regarding the fall and what emotions it caused. So much has been unravelled! After a bit of digging, together we found out that the pain was connected to her ‘having to do everything by herself and not wanting to ask for help’. We used some techniques to shift her mindset and within 30 minutes from the start of the session, the pain decreased by about 50%!

Interesting what her body was communicating to her…

By me sharing these words about the incredible connection between the mind and body, I want to invite you to listen to your body, to become aware of its signals and messages, and if there is a deeper meaning beyond the symptom(s) you are experiencing.

You can start by asking yourself some useful questions such as

• Do I have any physical symptoms? If yes, where?
• What emotion does the physical symptom arise?
• Where do I feel it in my body? [For instance, the symptoms make me feel angry/sad/anxious, and I feel it in my chest area]
• What is this feeling I am experiencing here to teach me?⁠
• If my body could write me a message, what would it say?
• What needs to be addressed in my life?
• How can I feel more at peace at this moment?

So, what is your body trying to tell you?