The Question Only Your Body Can Answer

Image credit: Dancers (detail), Edgar Degas (1834-1917), 1899. Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Spain

This week, one of my clients blew me away. She's a high school kid with POTS, a debilitating nervous system disorder which causes tremendous fatigue, pain and dizziness. High school is hard enough for healthy kids, and this girl was making a slow and painful crawl toward the finish line of summertime. During our first session, she told me how piles of homework, dozens of absences and worried parents were making life feel very pressurized.

We spoke two weeks later. She told me she'd made a big, brave decision: "I'm dropping out. I'm leaving my private school. I'm going to take the GED and take college classes." she said. "I feel so relived."

Wow.

"You asked what my body needed most in order to heal. That was it - I needed to quit school."

Since she made the decision, her symptoms have improved. She's even talking about starting a business teaching piano lessons this summer. She's building a life she loves. 

What does your body need most in order to heal? 

I love that question. It's just as revelatory as it is terrifying to answer.

I learned about the power of this question from Dr. Lissa Rankin, one of my instructors from my coaching program - also one of my personal heroes. When Dr. Rankin asked this question to her patients struggling with chronic issues, they tended to blurt out answers that surprised them: 

I've got to end my relationship.

I need to move to Santa Fe.

It's time for me to quit my job and travel.

I want to fulfill my dream of opening my own restaurant. 

I need a break from my mother in-law.

Dr. Rankin calls this process "writing our own prescription for healing" - it means doing whatever we need to do to get our bodies out of stress response and into relaxation response. The body can only doing its deep healing work when it's not completely ravaged by stress hormones. The answer that bubbles up is usually accompanied by feeling of physical relief - your energy rises, you let out a deep breath, you can't help but smile. 

Interestingly, Dr. Rankin found that in most cases patients who fulfilled their own prescription for healing got better. When she asked those who didn't take the leap about what held them back, it always came down to the same thing: fear. 

Our bodies always tell the truth about what shifts we need to make in our life. Somehow they can see past the fear. Somehow dreaming about moving to Santa Fe immediately relaxes the persistent tension in your shoulders. 

I'm so inspired by my young client who chose to listen to her body and her inner wisdom for the sake of her health. She got curious about the possibilities, kicked fear to the side, and let her body speak its truth. Way to go, sister.