I have been very ill for the last few days. I very rarely get sick and it wiped me out completely. However, he reminded me how well our body tells us what it needs in all situations.

Unfortunately it was a stomach bug which meant I didn’t feel like eating anything and even the water was a bit rough. Interestingly though, the old lemonade ice block “wife tale” actually works and it’s the only thing I felt or my body could contain for the first two days. (So ​​at least I didn’t get dehydrated!)

When we find ourselves in a situation like this we have to listen to our body, we have no other choice. So I went to bed and rested and slept as much as I could.

So why don’t we listen to our body when it’s fine? It’s because we have the energy and ability to override it, and we’ve often become disconnected from our body’s natural instincts, so we can no longer hear or feel what it’s telling us. Imagine how well our body would work for us if we did exactly what it tells us all the time?

It is very important to eat when we are really hungry, eat exactly what we want, stop when we are satisfied and go do something else until we are physically hungry again. These are the 4 principles of the Feeding Cycle.

But what should we do when we are not hungry?

1. Recharge: rest, relax, get enough sleep, do things that bring us joy

2. Energize – move our bodies. Find something you like and do it regularly, it doesn’t have to be every day and it doesn’t have to be aerobic. Just move. Your body will love it physically and emotionally.

3. Stimulation – We all need something that enlightens us, to feel valued, that we are contributing. Boredom leads to lack of motivation and procrastination often finds us in front of the pantry or the fridge!

4. Higher power – or inner connection. An opportunity every day to just stop and be, to connect with yourself. This could be prayer, meditation, art, music, fishing, walking in nature, or something creative. It’s time to just turn off the business of life and stress.

You don’t have to find a lot of extra time for these things, as they can often be combined. I walk every day in the beautiful park next to our house. It has many paths that wind through beautiful fields, the bush and along the river. While walking I can recharge, energize and stimulate myself while connecting with my higher power. Magic.

So this month I encourage you to think about whether you are adequately meeting all of your body’s needs or staying active by overeating, drinking alcohol, or even overworking yourself. Eventually, your body will tell you that you’ve had enough.