Trusting Your Body As You Age

I don’t really trust my body. It has a habit of suddenly breaking down with no apparent warning. One day, I’m busy sitting at my desk for six hours, and the next day my back is in spasms the minute I put on a sock. Another day, I’m enjoying a long hike with the dog, and the next day my right foot hurts when I place it gingerly on the floor. These aches and pains seems to appear out of nowhere without warning, and it’s causing my mind to not entirely trust my body.

Health By The Numbers

It’s not like I don’t try to take care of my body. I mostly follow the numbers recommended for exercise, healthy foods and sleep.** I wonder if my body is breaking down simply because I’m getting older. 

Should we expect our bodies to hurt more now that we’re older?  

Popular media would suggest that this is true. Older people are often characterized on TV as groaning about their aches and pains. Even doctor’s expect us to be in more pain: “As we age, our muscles get tighter, our tendons and ligaments become less flexible, and our bodies take longer to heal from injury.”* 

There Are Warning Lights

I have a lifetime of practice ignoring my body’s messages. I “push on” to finish a physically repetitive task such as, cleaning windows, pulling weeds or shovelling snow while choosing not to pause and stretch, to give my body the break that it’s asking for. I haven’t provided my body with rest when it signals that it’s tired, or a drink when it’s thirsty, because I can delay those things while I finish the important stuff that I’m doing. Why do we do that? I’d never ignore the dashboard warnings on my car like I do my own warning lights.  

“Most of us are not taught to value early signs of any of our basic body needs. We learn that our biology is inconvenient and embarrassing. That’s how many of us feel about pain — it’s inconvenient and embarrassing…”***

I am not giving my body what it needs when the warning lights come on. 

How Can I Easily Notice What My Body Needs?

Being in the habit of ignoring my warning signs, means I need to lean into some tools to help me notice them every day. I’ve found that meditation, yoga and pausing are giving me opportunities to become aware of what I need in the moment. When I’m doing yoga I notice areas of my body that are tight or sore. This is my body telling me to pay attention and look after those spots. When I’m meditating, I scan my body and notice a faint pressure behind my eyes. This is my body telling me a headache is brewing. When I’m quiet and taking a breath, I notice that my body is telling me what it needs.

“By The Numbers” Fails Me

Relying solely on the numbers instead of listening to my body is not helping me to avoid breakdowns. When I “follow the numbers” and exercise for an hour because that’s what I think I should be doing, I’m not listening to my body. Maybe my body needed rest that day, or maybe it needed a different kind of exercise altogether. By relying only on the “numbers” and not the messages that my body is sending me, I’m not giving my body what it really needs.**

It’s true that it takes longer to heal as we age than it used to. But, I wonder if I was better at noticing the warning lights from my body, then maybe I wouldn’t suffer from as many unexpected breakdowns. I would learn to trust my body.

What messages from your body do you pay attention to? Comment below.

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*https://my.clevelandclinic.org/podcasts/health-essentials/dealing-with-common-aches-and-pains-as-we-age-with-dr-donald-ford

**https://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-listen-to-your-body-and-give-it-what-it-needs/

***https://yalingliou.medium.com/are-you-ignoring-your-basic-body-needs-bac401e8f040