Vitality as Body’s Wisdom
The Body's Wisdom: A lesson from the Underworld of Burnout
If you're a healer, a creative or an entrepreneur, you probably know that moment when your body simply refuses to go on. It might manifest as an illness, psychosomatic pain, or a sudden injury. Bodies are remarkably wise in getting our attention. I often wish I would hear the early subtle messages so the body wouldn’t have to resort to extreme measures. For me, the lesson came as a lingering cold that took me down for nearly 2.5 weeks.
The Resistance to Rest
What struck me most during my recovery wasn't the illness itself - it was how hard it was to truly rest beyond the first two days. How quickly I wanted to get back to work and feel productive again. How my body immediately reminded me (with a swift decline the next day) that healing doesn't work on my ambitious timeline.
The pattern was clear: as soon as I felt a bit more energy, I'd jump back into work. The next day, I'd feel worse. My body was trying to tell me something I already knew but had forgotten: healing requires a delicate balance of rest and gentle movement, proper hydration, deep breathing, good nutrition, and above all—mindfulness. The kind that actually listens to the body's wisdom rather than overriding it.
The Perfect Storm
Looking back, I can see exactly how I arrived at this point of depletion. I was juggling many balls simultaneously: moving to a new town, opening an in-person private practice in a new location, wrapping up a year's worth of workshops, completing two books, forming new relationships, maintaining existing ones, and settling into a new home.
I kept going, occasionally pushing through with chocolate, rhodiola, or green tea as fuel to accomplish everything I'd set out to do. The irony wasn't lost on me—here I was, a somatic healer and mindfulness practitioner who's been on a contemplative path since 2019, slipping right back into the old pattern of over-functioning.
The Patterns We Carry
These patterns run deep. They were formed in early childhood when productivity and excellence shaped not just my worth, but my very sense of belonging. If you're a performer or over-achiever, you might relate to this. There's grief in watching these ingrained habits play out, even after all these years of awareness work and healing practice.
I've had to do some deep grieving around this. And eventually, I chose the wisdom of my body—taking time to listen, to honor, and to follow its requests and impulses. Which turned out to be remarkably simple: fresh air, sunlight, breath, movement, and nourishing food. Just the right amount. No caffeine to push through, no sugar to keep going—just clean fuel, rest, and more rest when needed.
Energy as Currency
Being a Manifesting Generator in Human Design, I've learned that I really have to say "no" to things and people, even when they feel exciting. I've discovered that work, like relationships, takes energy. Sometimes it can feel re-energizing, but I need to track what energizes me and what drains me.
I need to have boundaries with projects, just like I would with people.
When inspiration comes or someone asks me to work on something, I've learned to pause. I take notes and feel into my energy, honestly asking myself: Am I up for doing this? And if yes—is this coming from my inner alignment, or from fear or obligation?
It has to be alignment. Otherwise, it's a drain on my energy.
Sometimes it's a matter of timing, and saying to a project or a request "not yet" or "not now." Asking myself if I can delegate this to someone else. Ultimately trusting that the world is going to keep evolving and be just fine if I say No.
That creates space for an Authentic Yes—that which lights me up, energizes me, and brings my gifts forward to the world.
The Practice of "Not Now"
I get so many ideas, and some of them want to take over. I have to tell them: "I took a note. You're indeed very interesting. You're in my library now. I'll think about whether I want to work on you today, this week, or in the next year or few."
Or: "Yes, and now I need to rest and take a walk and eat some nourishing food so that I can sustain myself to do this work."
So it's not always saying "no"—though sometimes that is appropriate. More often, it's saying "not now" or "not yet." And that is the wisdom I'm remembering again, after all these years of being alive on this planet.
During these 2.5 weeks of recovery, I said "No" to a handful of people—and surprised myself in the process. And you know what? It created space. Space for art, for writing, and for attracting aligned clients who were a true fit for my work.
The Simple Things We Forget
I noticed something profound during my recovery: when I'm at the computer or on my phone typing or reading, I'm often holding my breath. It was such an eye-opening moment. How had I not noticed this before?
I also realized I wasn't entirely comfortable when sitting or typing—I needed to adjust my position, take pauses every 45 minutes, move and stretch, and ultimately hydrate.
Here's what our bodies actually need:
Fresh air and sunlight – at least 20 minutes, twice a day
Being in a garden or in nature – whenever possible
Movement every 45 minutes – even gentle stretching
Deep breathing – we hold our breath more than we realize
Hydration – so often we're tired simply because we're dehydrated
Rest – real rest, not scrolling on social media or consuming news
Play – it's essential to our wellbeing, not optional
A lot of times we're tired because we're dehydrated, not breathing properly, or haven't moved enough. The energy gets stuck in our meridians. Qi Gong masters say we sit too much, and when we sit, the energy stops flowing.
Taking a walk, stretching, or dancing can be re-energizing—as can breathing, sunlight, and hydration—instead of reaching for sugar or caffeine. Closing our eyes for five minutes and putting our palms over our eyes can really allow our minds to relax.
When we're more relaxed, when we take mindful breaks with movement and breathing, work flows much better than when we're pushing through and loading our bodies with external fuel instead of letting them rest, breathe, move, and flow naturally.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, nothing is more important than health. We need health to thrive and be of service to this planet.
As my mentor says, "No one wins if the practitioner goes down."
Nature knows when to rest—like deciduous trees and perennial plants in the winter, like animals who instinctively know when to sleep and when to play. It's time we remembered our own nature, which technology is pulling us away from more and more.
The one thing we can surely do is take a break every 45 minutes—smile, get out in the sun, stretch, make a joke, breathe! We have the power.
I'm taking these lessons with me as I re-enter the world after a couple weeks of really exploring the stop-and-go dynamic, emerging with new realizations and a renewed trust that being needs to be balanced with doing.
As the saying goes—we're not human doings, we're human beings.
Reflection Questions:
Where in your life are you pushing through instead of pausing?
What old patterns around productivity and worth are still running the show?
What is your body trying to tell you right now?
What would an authentic "yes" look like for you today?
