When Your Body Knows First

The signs are there… if we’re willing to listen.

I remember stepping off the plane in Toronto and heading straight to the bathroom where I completely melted down.

I’d just landed after a long trip to London, traveling with my new boss—a woman I simply could not connect with. And that’s not normal for me. Connection is one of my gifts. When it’s missing, I know something’s off. But back then, I didn’t yet trust that knowing.

So I did what so many of us do. I blamed myself. I told myself I needed to try harder. Get over it. Be more professional. Find common ground.

But my body already knew the truth. I just didn’t want to listen.

That experience ended up being a major turning point. Three months later, I moved into a different role. A year later, she left the company. But the real shift came when I started to realize: my body had been signaling that something wasn’t right from the very beginning.

And it’s not just that moment. Over and over again, I’ve learned that the body always speaks first—through emotions, through illness, through tension or exhaustion. When we don’t listen, it gets louder. Until we’re standing face to face with a rock bottom that can’t be ignored.

So today, I want to ask you:

Are you listening to your body’s signals? Or are you pushing through them hoping they’ll go away?

Here are a few common signs we tend to ignore:

1. You feel “off” in someone’s presence
Even if you can’t name it—disconnection, unease, tightening in your chest—this is worth paying attention to.

2. You feel perpetually exhausted or wired
Not just from work, but from performing. Pretending. Navigating dynamics that require more energy than they return.

3. You get sick more often—or can’t seem to recover fully
The body will slow you down when you won’t do it for yourself.

And here are a few invitations for what to do when those signals show up:

1. Ask yourself: What’s the truth I’m not admitting?
Sometimes the truth is inconvenient, but that doesn’t make it less real.

2. Check in: What does my body need right now?
Not what will make others comfortable. Not what looks good. But what actually helps you come back to yourself.

3. Choose alignment over obligation
Even when you can’t make a big change right away, you can take small steps to move toward what feels right and real for you.

Because here’s what I know:

Your body is wise.
Your emotions are messengers.
And when something’s not right—you usually already know.

We just need to trust ourselves enough to listen.