Listening to Your Body’s Messages

One of the many gifts of natural medicine is the ability to look deeper at symptoms. We are lucky to have a wide variety of medications at our fingertips at the local drugstore and it is easy to choose the appropriate drug for any current ailment. Chinese medicine (CM), however, strives to look at the root cause of all symptoms or imbalances. CM describes “root” and “branch” treatments, where the root is WHY the problem is happening and the branch is how the problem is happening. Of course, there is no way to control everything that happens to our bodies, however if we can cue into some daily “imbalances” we can learn SO MUCH about what our bodies are trying to tell us!
Digestion: Healthy digestion is the root of all good health. Food should be easily digested and eliminated on a daily basis. Acid reflux, bloating, gas and constipation are some common telltale signs that food is not getting properly digested.
Sleep: Giving the body the proper amount of rest is important so the body has time to heal and rejuvenate itself. We should be able to fall asleep and stay asleep for at least 6-8 hours. Problems staying asleep, temperature regulation problems and disturbing dreams are sign of sleep imbalance.
Pain: In CM, qi (energy) flows throughout the body at all times. Whenever qi becomes stuck, pain often results. Headaches, body aches and joint pain are signs of such an imbalance.
Hormones: For women, menstrual cycles offer great insight regarding the health of hormonal balance. Monthly cycles should not cause great disruption into a women’s daily life in terms of pain and emotional well being. Many women find that they encounter various changes into their daily routine around certain times of the month (usually ovulation and menstruation) and these changes are indicative of the body’s warning system. Symptoms may include cramping, irritability, appetite changes, cravings, sleep changes and skin changes.
It takes a little bit of consciousness and pause to clue into our body, especially if its not something we’re used to practicing. I invite you to really listen to your body and trust your “gut” feelings EVERYDAY so that your future health has the best chance of staying well.