In the last post I told you about a student of mine who came in wanting help with postural issues related to her scoliosis. This student told me that she had a job that required her to tune out and ignore her body, in order to concentrate on her work.
She also mentioned how exhausting it was to tune back into her body after work.
I actually don’t think that the act itself of tuning back into her body is the source of her exhaustion. She is actually exhausted already. When she tunes into herself she is finally getting the message and realizing how tired she truly is.
When you constantly tune out and ignore your body you miss very important signals. It is not unlike ignoring the check engine light on the car when it comes on.
Your body communicates with you giving you important information.
But here’s the thing…you have to tune in to hear it!
If you ignore that check engine light too long you may do damage to the car. However, many of us will more readily tune in, listen to and respond to the check engine light in the car than we will tune in and respond to the messages our body is giving us—messages telling us we need to change positions, move, rest, eat, breathe….
If you are not listening to your body you don’t have a chance to make important choices fundamental to your health, well-being, and posture.
Just like my student, I used to operate in a sort of split mode. I went to work and got my job done. After work when I realized just how much my back and neck hurt, I would try to do things to deal with it.
As I gradually learned to tune into myself more during the course of my workday and listened to what my body was telling me, I was able to make small choices that made a big difference by the end of the day.
Choices to get up from my desk a bit more often, to come back and up away from the computer screen I had started craning toward, to take a drink of water, to go to the bathroom!
If you currently tune out and ignore your body during the workday try making some small changes to tune in from time to time.
Choose a cue such as when an e-mail alert pops up on the computer. Don’t check it immediately.
Give yourself the gift of a few seconds to tune in to yourself and listen to what your body is telling you.
Make some choices if you need to.
Maybe you need to change positions, extricate your feet from around the legs of your chair and put your feet back on the ground, stop holding your breath, take a sip of water, and ease back and up away from the computer screen if you have been craning forward.
Tuning in once and making a choice doesn’t take that long.
If you make a commitment to consistently tune in at regular intervals, listen and make appropriate choices throughout your day— your small efforts will add up and will make a difference.
At the end of the workday, your body and your posture will thank you for it!
Image courtesy of artur84 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
