What It Actually Means to Listen to Your Body (And Why It’s Not What You’ve Been Told)

“Listen to your body” is one of those phrases that gets used a lot — and explained very little.

For some women, it sounds vague.

For others, it sounds like permission to opt out.

And for many capable, thoughtful women, it quietly raises suspicion.

If I really listened… would I ever do anything hard?Wouldn’t I just avoid discomfort altogether?

That’s a fair question.

Because what most people assume listening means is stopping at the first sign of resistance.

But that’s not actually what listening looks like.

Listening isn’t about avoiding challenge.It’s about responding intelligently to what’s present.

Your body is always communicating — through sensation, energy, tension, breath, mood. Not in dramatic ways, but in small, consistent signals. And when those signals are ignored over time, the body doesn’t become stronger or more resilient.

It becomes guarded.

This is where things get confusing.

Because many women who are used to pushing through are very good at overriding themselves. They can ignore fatigue. Work around pain. Muscle through stress. Do what needs to be done.

Until one day, the signals get louder.

Listening, in this context, isn’t about giving up effort.

It’s about changing the relationship with effort.

It means noticing the difference between:

– discomfort that comes with growth

– and strain that leads to shutdown

It means recognising when a movement feels challenging but supportive — versus when it feels threatening, braced, or depleting.

And that distinction matters.

Because the body doesn’t adapt when it feels under attack.It adapts when it feels resourced enough to respond.

Listening might mean continuing with a workout even when it feels uncomfortable — because the discomfort is clean, contained, and manageable.

Or it might mean easing off, modifying, or stopping — because something in you is signalling that today isn’t the day for more.

Avoidance is driven by fear.

Listening is driven by awareness.

One pulls you away from your body.

The other keeps you in relationship with it.

That’s the nuance that often gets missed.

And it’s why listening doesn’t make you weaker, softer, or less committed.

It usually makes you more consistent.

Because when your body trusts that you’ll respond instead of override, it stops needing to protect itself so fiercely.

Effort becomes available again — not because you force it, but because it’s safe enough to emerge.

So if you’ve been unsure whether you’re “listening” or just holding back, you don’t need to judge yourself.

You might simply be learning a more precise language.

One that isn’t about doing less or doing more —but about doing what your body can actually work with.

And that’s not fluff.

That’s skill.

🌿