The Loving Truth: Listening to the Body
Physical Healing and Wholeness: A Holistic Approach
Reflection By Robbin Brent
Your body is talking. Are you listening?
- Dr. Neha Sangwan
I’d been an avid runner for most of my life before a neck injury brought it to a painful halt in early winter 2001. The next three years were a dark night of my body, mind, and soul. I could not sleep, drive a car, or carry anything over a couple of pounds. I lost trust in my body’s ability to heal and be well.
Fast forward to early March 2025. I was inspired to run again, thrilled by the feeling of wild exhilaration and freedom as my strength and stamina returned. It had been almost 25 years since I’d moved this way, and I was impatient, pushing myself too hard.
My body began talking to me, quietly at first: a tenderness here, tightness there, then pain settled in. When I ignored those early “whispers,” it tried a little louder to get my attention. Finally, it got so painful I was forced to come to ground and listen to the loving truth: this body is not the same body it once was.
As we grow older, most of us wrestle with accepting and loving what is true about our bodies. We may need to grieve what we’ve lost before we can honor, embrace, and celebrate the amazing gift we inhabit. As we tune in to our bodies’ wisdom, we can learn to see them as holy temples, places where God’s Spirit dwells.
When we honor the intuitive intelligence of our bodies, we treat them with the same tenderness and reverence Jesus showed to those he touched and healed. As we navigate the inevitable highs and lows, we can practice kindness, patience, and grace, trusting the wisdom of our bodies and the One who made them.
Making It Personal: How might you practice greater reverence and care for your body? What is your body telling you right now about what it needs? What would it look like to honor your physical well-being as a gift from God?