Every day we see signs. Sometimes we see so many signs that we don’t “see them” anymore! We have just experienced a federal election with conflicting signs decorating many a boulevard. I awoke one morning to have SEVEN yellow signs for an independent candidate displayed on my lawn, placed there by an enthusiastic Gong supporter without my permission. As I am not confident in his claim that he is “here to rescue Canada”, I removed his signs from my lawn.
Our bodies also give us signs, but we can easily get in the habit of ignoring them. Signs from our body can show up as symptoms- they can include tension in certain muscle groups, or headaches, or an upset stomach. Difficulty falling asleep or waking in the night can be a sign from our body. They can be as ominous as an unexplained lump or as innocuous as a runny nose. Sometimes they “come out of no where”, like our many Gong signs, and we can’t imagine what led to our body experiencing these symptoms.
As a chiropractor, I find that many of my patients experience far greater health challenges if they are in the habit of ignoring the signs from their body. Some are in the habit of “taking down the signs” with pain killers, muscle relaxants or other drugs that silence the body from communicating with you. Some pride themselves on a high pain threshold and their ability to keep on going, regardless of how they are feeling. This is not necessarily a good thing- at least not in the long term!
Performing regular Somato-Respiratory Integration (SRI- click here to see our office video teaching SRI) and receiving regular Network Care will enhance your ability to notice and respond to the signs from your body. This leads to improved health and optimal functioning.
Signs from our body are a good thing, but we have to listen to them! We have to notice them and we have to interpret them correctly. One patient who is already very flexible, kept interpreting her lower back pain as a sign to stretch. Because she is hyper mobile, this was not helping and actually worsening her condition. Her pain was actually a sign that she needed to strengthen her core. Since she has been doing this, letting each twinge remind her to do a few more “dead bugs”(a core exercise), she has seen significant improvement.
We can use signs to our advantage. They can be signs from our body like the twinges my patient used to remind her to exercise, or they can be physical signs we put up to remind ourselves to do something beneficial for ourselves. A note on our tooth brush can remind us to do some SRI or stretch before bed. A “post it” on our computer monitor can remind us to get up every half hour so we don’t stay sitting for too long. (Did you know that a study by Ying Gao, reported in April 2024 in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports demonstrated that interrupting long periods of sitting with just 10 squats every 45 minutes significantly improves blood sugar control, even more than going for a single 30-minute walk!)
We are (finally) fully experiencing signs of spring, with blossoms on trees and tulips popping up. These are welcomed signs! As you enjoy these signs and discard the weathered election signs, take some time to develop your ability to notice and properly interpret the signs from your body. Practice SRI and get in for a tune up this month!