A Full Body YES!
Decisions can be hard, am I right? There is so much that pulls on our attention. An entire economic system colluding to get our eyeballs on their products. The slew of responsibilities that come with adulting. And for many of us right now, the lifting of long-standing COVID restrictions means so many more social events to possibly attend.
In all the hub-bub, it can be difficult to discern what is our true hunger? What do we actually want? How do we make choices that align fully with all of who we are?
Often, we end up making decisions out of habit, obligation, or convenience rather than dropping down and listening to the wisdom within.
The truth is, you are wise. You are good. And your body is a beautiful compass for navigating this one wild and precious life of yours.
This past weekend I had a challenging decision to make. Although it seemed like a great opportunity, I felt unsure. And my pros and cons list wasn’t giving me the clarity I was after.
Logic is only one of our ways of knowing, and yet, as a culture, it’s the one we rely on the most. What we think typically takes precedence over how we feel. Yet, according to indigenous elder, Pat McCabe, “the intellect is the least reliable way of knowing anything.”
Why? For one, the intellect is really good at separating and labeling. True knowledge, however, always leads us back to connection, back to love. We only need to look at the state of our world, which has been under the rule of logic for quite some time now, to see the limits of the intellect.
As I learn how to listen more deeply to my own wisdom, and help the women I work with listen to theirs, I find the concept of a “Full Body Yes” really empowering. It’s an idea I first learned from Qiddist Ashe.
A full body yes is exactly what it sounds like. It is when your whole being jumps up with an enthusiastic yes! to the choice at hand.
There is no dissonance, only a humming affirmation rippling through your body and spirit. For me, it comes with an expansive, turned-on feeling in the center of my chest. My heart and body both lean in, opening to the moment like a rose to the sun.
A full body yes is when all parts of us are in alignment. Our heart (feeling center), head (logic center), gut (intuitive center), and soul (spiritual center) all are on board.
When we have this kind of yes, we are in full integrity.
When we come into a situation with a full-body yes , we show up with joy, energy, and vitality to the task at hand.
When we don’t? There’s often resentment, fatigue, and even burn-out attached to our yes. We’ve compromised some part of ourselves. And that costs us (and typically those around us too!).
As a recovering “good-daughter of the patriarchy,” I said yes far too often for most of my life, and at great cost to my body and soul.
These days, as I step into my fullness, I am playing with a new way of being. I want to live from a place of deep alignment, letting my yesses be a full body yes!
I’m challenging myself–and perhaps you’d like to join me? If something is not a full body yes, can I let it be a no? Can I choose not to compromise myself, and trust the goodness of that choice?
As I felt into the choice I had to make this weekend, dropping into to each of my wisdom centers, I noticed contraction. I felt a dis-ease. Here was my answer. I passed on the opportunity. It was a really great opportunity, but it wasn’t a full body yes for me.
Was it the “right” decision? I am tempted to ask that question, but it’s the wrong one, because we can never know what might’ve been. A better question is did that decision honor my inner knowing? And the answer is yes.
Such decision-making cultivates greater trust and integrity within ourselves.
When we can do that for ourselves, we are not only more empowered, but we empower others by extending permission and possibility for them to honor the truth of their own experience too.
So what does a full body yes feel like for you? Drop into a memory of when you felt that energetic yes rippling in your whole being. What was happening? What sensations and feelings does it stir up for you? Where do you notice this yes in your body? I’d love to hear about it!
Pssst….know someone who might like this post? Pass it on!
Learning to trust our inner wisdom is at the heart of the work I do as a 1:1 Soul Companion. Click to learn more.
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