When You Stop Listening to Your Body

There’s usually a moment when you realize it.

Even for me—yes, me—that moment came. And I know I’ll be talking about this subject quite a bit because it’s not theoretical for me right now. It’s lived experience.

The realization isn’t dramatic.It’s quiet.

A gentle awareness that you’ve been tired for a long time.Disconnected.Pushing through things your body has been asking you to slow down from.

When we stop listening to our bodies, it rarely happens all at once. It’s subtle. We ignore hunger cues because we’re busy. We push past exhaustion because there’s always one more thing to do. We explain away tension, headaches, or digestive discomfort as “normal.”

For me, it showed up in not getting enough sleep. If you've been around for a while then you that I like to routinely get at least 7 hours of spleep.

As you may have heard me share, I use an Oura Ring. Over time, my data started telling a consistent story—my sleep duration was getting shorter and shorter. Until recently, the message became clear: my body needed rest. Not later. Not eventually. Now.

Our bodies are always communicating. Through energy levels. Through cravings. Through discomfort. Through restlessness. None of it is random. None of it is punishment. It’s information.

But many of us—especially women—have been taught to override those signals. To prioritize productivity. To care for everyone else first. To silence discomfort instead of asking what it needs.

Those sleep readings were a real wake-up call for me.

Listening to your body isn’t about perfection or control. It’s about respect. It’s about pausing long enough to ask, What am I actually feeling right now?—and then honoring the answer, even when it’s inconvenient.

Sometimes listening means resting.Sometimes it means eating differently.Sometimes it means setting a boundary you’ve been avoiding.

The shift doesn’t happen overnight. But awareness is always the first step. And once you begin listening again, your body responds—with relief, with trust, with healing.

If this resonates, let it be an invitation—not to fix anything, but to notice.Notice what your body has been asking for lately.And if you’re open to it, stay in this conversation with me—on the podcast, in these reflections, and in the quiet moments where awareness begins.

Your body is already speaking.You’re allowed to listen.

Teresa