Listening to my body

Part of my "new" journey is learning to listen to my body.

I had a headstart on this thanks to my yoga practice. In yoga, I've learned to listen to my body's signals that I've gone far enough in a pose, or when it's willing to go farther. I listen for the signals to back off, or to push on, and I've learned not to question those. Not listening often results in injury. And the first rule of yoga is ahimsa- do no harm; cause no pain- to yourself, nor to anyone or anything else.

So, LeeAnn is teaching me to listen to my body's hunger signals. I'm learning how to differentiate between true physical hunger (the need for fuel) and all that other stuff that I used to feed- boredom, frustration, anger, loneliness, disappointment or fear. I'm getting pretty good at it, after 5-6 weeks, finally. In fact, I'm beginning to hear things as subtle as "I need protein" or "I need carbs" sometimes instead of just "I need food."

The harder part of this equation for me is listening to my body in regards to exercise. I would actually like to be working out 6 days/week. But I can't. My post-meniscus-repair knee just isn't 100% yet, and if I work out too many consecutive days, I'm in pain. And that's really frustrating for me. And a few times, I've ignored my knee and pushed on anyway, resulting in more pain. Not ahimsa. So, for now, I'm working out 4 days/week- 2 lifting and intervals, 2 long cardio days. Hopefully, as my weight drops and my knee heals, I'll be able to add in a couple more days of cardio. Until then, however, I'll try to remember ahimsa, and give my body the rest it needs to recover and heal.

It's kinda like asking my mind to grant my body a small measure of grace.