Nobody Like You To Heal

In these last 10 days, life has given me a tremendous lesson. It was a period of intense learning for me, which I would like to share as I think that, in different ways, something similar happens to all of us from time to time.

When I started my training as a yoga teacher, I learned that one of the fundamental guidelines of this practice is “ahimsa”. Ahimsa means “non-violence”. Sometimes we think about not being aggressive with others only, but we are not aware of the violence we may be exerting against ourselves or our bodies.

Paradoxically, I learned this from Hindu medicine, but in reverse. I learned “by contrast” that there are things that are violent to my body.

For a week I followed a treatment for a supposed detox that only succeeded in causing a tremendous blockage in my body and my systems, from which I am only now recovering.

I am recomposing myself, treating the body with a lot of love, affection, gentleness, respecting my sensitivity. I learned that sensitivity must be respected for itself first.

This is not just a subjective perception. There is something that, as a coach, I teach my patients a lot and it is that we have to deeply know the functioning of our nervous system and our brain, the biological mechanism.

Because we are also a body and the quality of our vital experience depends on its well-being.

The process for us to heal ourselves

One thing that has been shown is that our body’s natural healing and regeneration powers are only activated when the relaxation response is active in our body, rather than the stress response.

When something activates our stress response, all of our body’s renewal and healing mechanisms are blocked or diminished, as are our immune systems and our ability to assimilate nutrients.

If the relaxation response is what cures us, what we shouldn’t do is harm our body in any way, nor overstimulate our systems.

Instead, everything that has to do with softness, with care, with listening to the body, with “less is more”… is what helps us.

That’s why I increasingly believe in techniques such as biodanza or coaching (at least as I understand it) that seek to generate positive, nutritious and relaxing experiences all the time.

Helping techniques and methodologies that escape shock treatment and seek transformation through love, affection, care, the generation of a safe and loving, free, listening space.

Reflect and trust your own criteria

I often meet people who have lived through the shock of overly abrupt and intense therapies and treatments, which often leave the person more unstructured than they were before they started.

One of the lessons I take from this retreat I’ve been to is that trusting others and their reputation should not make me distrust my own judgment, my intuition and the messages my body sends me.

As I always tell my patients, “You are the only authority in your life.”

So now, so that you can begin to go deeper into listening to yourself, I invite you to answer some questions that I’ve been asking myself as a result of this experience.

They will surely be as helpful and revealing as they were for me. Take a few minutes in a quiet place so you can respond with all the honesty and depth.

1. In what areas of my life am I trusting others’ voices more than my own?

2. At what times am I entrusting my well-being to others instead of listening to my own body’s voice?

3. In what areas of my inner self am I being violent with myself?

4. What habits am I attacking myself with?

And now that you’ve certainly become aware of something, you need to make this knowledge real in your life by putting it into action. Because gaining awareness without attitude doesn’t change anything.

My proposal is that in these next few days you will deliberately change some attitude or behavior that represents that you are not being kind to yourself. Or that you fail to expose yourself to the influence of something or someone who is not gentle and caring with you.

It may be deciding to drop out of a place, or a friendship, or perhaps experiencing what happens if you stop a treatment or therapy that you feel is being aggressive. Or maybe you decide to stop crashing between the four walls of a gym with the music at full volume to stroll in the sunlight in a park, listen to the birds and feel alive and at peace in the here and now.

You may decide to let go of something that is bad for you with the promise that in the future it will do you good.

Allow yourself to care for and heal yourself with a kindness and love that will surprise you. Because you are your most valuable possession.