When aches and pains seem to rule your life, it’s time to take a deeper look into your life. You could substitute other symptoms in place of ‘aches and pains’ like lack of energy, listlessness, apathy, feeling down in the dumps, weight problems, addictions, etc. These conditions can be strong indications that you are not being true to your self in some area or areas of your life, be it work, relationship, living environment and so on.

Even when your mind relays society’s stereotype messages as to what you should be doing in any area of your life, your body will let you know when a path or direction is not right for you. And this truthful guidance will come in varying degrees from gentle hints of dis-ease to downright debilitating conditions.

I can honestly vouch for this from personal experience as for me it’s naturally a primary example of how changing my life, changed how I am. I used to think that frequent headaches were just my woeful lot in life; and it wasn’t with peaceful acceptance that I drew that conclusion. There were times when I could do nothing but remain horizontal. I tried many avenues for help with a remaining option of neck surgery that carries no guarantee of relief. However, since I’ve introduced changes in my career, headaches are infrequent visitors, and the buoyancy that I feel from my general well-being is my body’s translation of “Yes, this is for me!” And when a headache does pop up from time to time, I know I need time out. Many years ago I had an even more specific example of my body talking to me. I was assigned a vast scheduling task for a lengthy television series where every human from production crew to actors, every last prop, and every location etc. etc. had to be slotted into a shooting schedule in the most economic way. As I opened the files every morning I would instantly feel nauseous and when I closed them at the end of each day, the nausea would lift. Now there are many who thrive on this kind of work, but I certainly am not one.

If some form of malaise plagues you, it’s worth investigating each area of your life to see how your body feels when you seriously consider each one.  Imagine yourself in each setting and check how your body responds – see if there is constriction, heaviness or any other tell-tale feeling in some area of your body.

If you can identify your problematic area, you have taken the first step towards introducing change. And change does not always have to be drastic. Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing an element within an area that will produce a “Yes” from your body. For example, when I’m writing about subject matter that I enjoy, time flies while I remain happily ensconced in front of my laptop. But ask me to write on material that is of no interest to me in a prerequisite style that is stodgy, and minutes seem like hours while my neck and head threaten me with mutiny.

Authentic living is liberating. Listen to your body, it doesn’t lie!