Is there a difference in how you hold yourself when you have, say, the flu versus a sprained ankle?
I’ve discovered that I can be far more gentle with myself when I have an illness like the flu. I can give myself permission to be tired, to adjust my eating patterns, to feel a little out of sorts, to put off cleaning.
Sure, I’ll be irritated because things aren’t getting done. I might even notice the dust bunnies more than usual because I feel less energetically able to do anything about them. There however won’t be a voice of “Suck it up and get moving.” I can lie down, read a book, nap, catch up on my Internet viewings, etc. without a sense of guilt or that I’m doing something wrong.
Conversely, I recently sprained my ankle and I notice I’m not giving myself much permission to be anything other than ready and raring to go. You see I don’t see myself as “sick”, therefore part of my belief system has me saying , “I’m okay and able to work so let’s be creative, keep evolving my business, and don’t forget about the vacuuming!” And yet when I try and do those things – like vacuuming (I sure hope my physiotherapist isn’t reading this), or sit at my desk for an afternoon, I’m exhausted and my pain levels shoot up.
In either scenario, whether illness or injury, my body has healing to do.
And maybe therein lies the invitation…
It’s not about getting into inner debates about how sick I am, or how injured I am. Is it a grade 1 or grade 2 sprain? Do I have a high enough fever to warrant not going to the office? Rather it is about hearing my body telling me it needs to heal. Period.
The body knows. It gives signals – low energy or pain or both. We may have shivers, a fever, or a need to walk differently because our foot and ankle don’t move they way they normally do. All of it is our body asking us to go forward gently and hear the call to healing.
And if we’re listening, we’ll “hear” the healing too. The decreasing pain levels. The return of energy. The walking that gets that much less awkward. The sense of more choices. Seeing the sunshine in the day.
So the invitation is to be gentle with yourself, whether you’re ill or injured or both! Listen to your body and what it is asking.
What if your body really is your greatest ally?
