Healthy Living DIY

According to my view, a person's body is actually pretty smart. Examine the evidence:

• You cut yourself and your body's smart enough to flush the wound so it won't get infected and then heal up the cut so you don't bleed to death (unless you nicked an artery).
• You catch a bug or cold and your body sends out a veritable army of immune system cells to burn out the virus.
• You eat something that doesn't agree with you and your digestive system takes immediate action to remove the offensive items from your system asap.
• You hurt your shoulder and your body is adaptable enough that it makes up the excess movement it needs to reach that heavy item on the highest shelf of your cupboard by over-extending your back.
• Oh yeah, your back. Isn't that what we were just talking about? So how long have you let that shoulder problem go, anyway? I'll bet your back is mighty tired of catching all the slack.

See how it goes sometimes? Your body is so good at compensating for all the goofy stuff you do to it that you come to expect that its capacity is endless.

In reality, your physical body in many ways operates as a machine does. It's got great longevity provided it's well cared for. But a mechanical system under stress will only go so far before something important fails. Just look at what happens to your car when the frame's out of alignment.

Does your back really go "out" for no reason? Of course not. Your body's smart. If something important fails, you can be sure there's something behind it. (Reminds me of the time the car guy told me there was "no reason" for my windshield wipers not to work, but I digress...)

Your challenge, as the owner of your body, is to figure out what that something is. In the case of your back, it might be anything from a mechanical problem somewhere else in the body (like the example) to unresolved life stress creating muscular tension that compresses your discs to ... well, you name it!

In any case, it's well worth your while to try and figure that little mystery out. You're usually the best one to get the ball rolling because, obviously, as the one in the body, the message that's being sent is addressed to you.

The booklet "Incubate Your Best Solution: How to Answer Perplexing Life Questions by Connecting with Your Inner Voice of Wisdom," part of our Ultimate Stress-Buster Kit is designed to support you in doing just that. Check it out here: Ultimate Stress-Buster Kit.

Or just start out by asking yourself some simple questions like this one: "What do I need to learn in order to resolve this perplexing situation?"

TIP: Ask "what" or "how," but skip the "why's." They usually won't get you too far.