“The body doesn’t lie”
Martha Graham (one of the 20th Century’s most celebrated dancers and choreographers) often shared a story of being caught in a lie by her father when she was a young girl. When she asked her father how he knew it was not the truth, he simply said, “The body doesn’t lie.”
I have often noticed when people aren’t honest, they raise their eyebrows in a particular pattern, and there are a fair amount of research studies that support this being the case.
But this post isn’t about deception.
What I’d like you to consider is that your body, whether you are aware of it or not, tells a story. A story that possesses an innate truth. By getting in touch with your body’s wisdom, it can teach you a powerful lesson. Not in how to deceive others, but rather in how to align your thoughts, feelings, and ultimately the values that drive you.
What I’d like you to ask yourself, now that you are in all likelihood working from home, what is the truth your body is telling you?
Are you getting more headaches being on Zoom, or some other virtual platform, hour after hour–even if it’s for fun and socializing? Does your backache, or are you catching yourself in the mirror or on your own screen scowling? Also, a classic eye roll tells a very different picture than what you might be saying or not saying with your words. And the word right now is that people working from home are working more than they did when they went into the office. So a lot of emotion and physical tension is potentially building up around that extra call to action.
The truth of your body might be positive as well. Perhaps you are smiling more, your home may be an unexpected haven, and dressing casually is allowing some kind of freedom you didn’t experience in a suit or heels, and in turn, you may be feeling more balanced. Or breathing more deeply. Maybe you feel less fatigue because you aren’t rushing as much.
This seismic shift in work routines over the past eight weeks has granted us a great many opportunities to observe ourselves in a whole new habitat. Your body, if you look and listen to it carefully, is sharing some powerful truths with you. Under every bodily reaction, there is an emotional undercurrent that can guide you toward greater well being and fuller self-expression.
The work I do as a coach is about creating synchrony with your mind, body, and spirit. If your body isn’t aligned, chances are something isn’t quite in harmony, and that means the message you are sending to others, and to yourself is, at best, mixed.
And that’s when words come into play, but that’s another article for another day.
For now, try this quick inventory:
Where is your tongue at? A crazy question, I know! But if it’s plastered against the roof of your mouth or against your front teeth, that creates a lot of excess tension in your jaw and throat. Which can lead to tension headaches, holding your breath, and inhibiting free and natural speech.
What are your shoulders up to? Are they raised or collapsed? By releasing your shoulders down, lifting your sternum, and gently drawing your shoulder blades together, you will expose more of your literal and figurative heart. Leading you to more connected conversations.
How are your digits? Check-in with your fingers, toes, wrists, and ankles. They have the potential to carry a vast amount of tension, and a quick stretch of the foot or hand can do you a world of good. It might also help you recognize you are experiencing an emotion (like frustration), and by releasing the body first, the words may come next. Or, you may realize you need to take a walk or stretch and simply reset altogether.
Take some time and open your awareness to the story of your body. It never lies, and the truth it’s telling you, might just set you free.