My Left Foot - Part 2: Learning to Listen

Our bodies are truly amazing instruments. And the healing process is flat out a phenomenal experience. I am 10 days out of surgery and, if I listen carefully, my body will tell me what and how much I can do on a day to day basis. And, what I am able to do right now is not a lot.

I can honestly say that I have just about surrendered to my body’s advice to rest a lot and drink a lot. I fully believe that our bodies need an abundance of rest in order to heal. I am learning that there is no substitution for quality rest and there are no short cuts.

The few times I have pushed myself by doing too much in the past ten days, I have paid the price with throbbing and pain in my left foot. I have learned the hard way that I cannot fool my body by squeezing in one more activity or one more phone call. In the past, I could ignore the physical signals that whispered to me when it was time to stop pushing. Right now, my body is in full charge and will scream at me when it is time to stop and rest. I think that I am actually learning to really listen to my body.

Listening is an incredibly important skill to develop. We are asked to listen in school, at work, to our kids, to our spouses. But do we really listen? I know that I don’t always listen when I should be. I think that I am listening but I’m really not. There are times during my yoga practice when I don’t listen to my body. There are times when I don’t listen to the teacher (yes, it is true). There are times when I don’t listen to my kids or my husband!

But now, due to this surgery, I’ve been forced to listen carefully. I will need to continue to listen carefully in order to facilitate healing. If I don’t listen, I feel physical pain. If I do listen, I let go and allow myself to rest and heal.

In many ways, this surgery has been a gift. I have a feeling that my improved listening skills will be one of the most special gifts of all.

Thank you for reading and listening to my story.

Peace. Cara