This episode is for anyone who needs to calm their mind down now and gives ideas for how to listen to the body.
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Hello writers!
Before I launch into today’s topic, which is about calming down your mind by listening to your body, I wanted to celebrate reaching the 75th episode of this podcast!
Thanks so much for being here.
Each time I do a new episode, I learn something new. In episode #40, I talked about all the things that podcasting has taught me about writing.
But I really want to mark this occasion because according to estimates, only about 10% of podcasts make it to 20 episodes.
This means that 90% of podcasts stop after the third episode, which leaves only about 200,000 podcasts. Of those remaining ones, 90% will stop after 20 episodes.
This happens for a number of different reasons.
The top ones include the fact that a lot of podcasts don’t really have a specialized focus that helps people do something—whether it’s teaching them new skills or explaining topics they’re interested in.
In short, they don’t really have a niche.
Most folks also don’t know how much time and effort it actually takes to produce a podcast.
Even though my solo episodes are relatively short, from start to finish, each one takes about 8 hours to write, record, edit, publish, and then spread the word to my listserve and on social media.
For my guest interviews, I employ an amazing professional podcast editor named Rachael Sanya because I don’t have the time or skills to make those sound great.
I also credit Rachael for giving me the external accountability to release a new episode every two weeks on Tuesday mornings without fail.
Additionally, most people don’t have both internal and external reasons to do a podcast.
For me, this is a platform that fulfills my internal desire to openly share my ideas with the world and hopefully helps academics suffer less in their writing and in their careers and personal lives.
It’s also obviously a primary way that I get coaching clients.
When people come to me through my podcast, they are already very familiar with my style and approach and know that it resonates with them.
It makes our relationship much smoother from the get-go. There’s just a lot of trust there.
And I need to mention, if you want to work with me in 2025, please schedule a free consult on my website. I am fully booked for the next few months and am starting new clients in the summer, so don’t wait to talk to me!
But getting back to what I was saying before about internal and external motivations, this podcast is also a main pathway for me to help folks for free on a broader scale.
I am very big on giving back and understand that many scholars are not in a financial position to hire me, so this podcast is meant to be a resource that’s accessible to everyone regardless of income.
Another big challenge for podcasters is that it’s hard to keep things new and interesting. I don’t like doing the same thing over and over again.
That was the primary reason why I started incorporating guest interviews a year ago, and it has kept me really invigorated.
So none of this is to dissuade any of you who already have your own podcast or have always dreamed of having one.
I’ll just say that if you are going to embark on an adventure like this, make a good plan.
I recommend you read the book Make Noise: A Creator’s Guide to Podcasting and Great Storytelling by Eric Nuzum before you start.
So thanks again for joining me on this journey, and I can’t wait to reach 100 episodes!
And like always, please let me know if there are particular topics you’d like to hear more about and I’ll do my best to address them. Drop me a line at Leslie@nullYourWordsUnleashed.com.
Tap Into the Wisdom of Your Body
So let’s get into today’s topic about tapping into the wisdom of your body to calm down your mind. I am doing this episode for myself as much as for you.
As you well know, 2025 has been crazy so far! In the U.S., things feel chaotic and completely uncertain, which apparently is the point of it.
Terrible things that you never thought could or would happen are now taking place on a daily basis.
It feels like the new presidential administration is out to tank the economy, illegally destroy all institutions and wipe out knowledge production.
They are somehow managing to accomplish this while also ruining long-standing international relationships and the country’s global reputation.
Needless to say, it has been really difficult to focus.
On top of that, my son’s entire preschool class came down with the flu and he was extremely sick for more than a week. Any parent who’s listening has felt that drop in your stomach when this happens.
Luckily, he’s totally better now, but it was pretty dicey for awhile.
So every day has felt like riding a rollercoaster of emotions. My mood has been flipping back-and-forth in response to each new wave of bad news.
Maybe you can relate!
Because I’ve been in my head so much, I’ve returned to a meditation practice and to doing more physical activity.
It made me realize how much I had been neglecting my body as a source of wisdom.
Humans tend to be be stuck in our heads and listen only to the conscious thoughts emanating from our brain.
When there is so much guidance we can gain from our bodies if we only stop to ask and to listen.
I forget all the time that we are animals — sentient beings who inherently know things on a primal level that has nothing to do with words or logic or reason.
But let me ask you, how often do you actually check in with your body during the day?
Probably not as often as you like, or you might save it for specific times like yoga classes or running or working out.
Between teaching, meetings, writing, and the million other things on your plate, not even including the state of the world, it’s easy to ignore the signals your body is sending you.
But our bodies are always communicating with us.
It’s telling us when to pay attention, when to slow down, and when to rest. Sometimes, it’s even nudging us towards clarity on a tough decision.
But we are so used to powering through our days relying only on our jerks of a brain that we often miss the signs completely.
Today, I want to change that.
I’m going to share 2 easy exercises to help you reconnect with your body when your mind is feeling like it’s working overtime.
These are simple practices you can do anytime, anywhere—no fancy equipment or major time commitment required.
2 Simple Exercises to Check in with Your Body
A recent study found that people age significantly at two specific points in their lives: around age 44 and again at age 60.
Scientists are not exactly sure what specific impacts these bursts of aging have on the body.
But now that I’m 47, I do feel at an intrinsic level that my body is changing and transforming, whether I like it or not.
So I’m trying to bring body awareness back into my life and more into my coaching again.
I want to give you two easy exercises that will help you gain information and guidance from your body when your mind is stressed and overwhelmed.
#1: Body Message Exercise
This first exercise is for times when your brain is not giving you the best advice or is perhaps giving you conflicting advice.
It doesn’t really have a name, so I’m going to refer to it as a body message exercise.
I learned this very simple technique during life coach training. The first time I did it I was pretty blown away by the information the body is able to give when you stop to listen.
There’s different ways you can do this.
But in a coaching session I use it when someone says that they’re having a hard time with a situation.
It’s usually something tangible like finishing a journal article or a book chapter or devoting enough time to writing.
When I probe further, the pain around this problem tends to be rooted in a challenging thought or belief about what’s going on.
It’s usually a self-judgment.
So for example, someone might say. “I am feeling so anxious because I’ve made so little progress on my book this month.”
The thought under that might be a judgment like, “I’m falling so far behind” or “I’m failing at meeting my goals again.”
At this point I ask the client, “when you think that thought, where do you feel it in your body?”
And they stop to scan their body. Then we talk to that part of the body and see what information it has to share.
So here’s the exercise if you want to try it yourself:
It’s best if you’re in a quiet space where you can sit and be alone for a few moments.
When you’re feeling very bothered by something and you can’t think your way out of the feeling, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
Let your shoulders relax and drop away from your ears.
Then try to locate this worry or concern in a part of your body. It will usually take the form of tension or tightness and constriction.
For most people, work-related stress manifests in the head, shoulders and neck. It also sometimes takes the form of tightness across the chest or stomach cramps or flutters.
Once you’ve found where this worry lives, focus with curiosity on that part of your body. Imagine it as its own little entity that has its own independent thoughts and opinions.
And, with your eyes still closed, breathe slowly and deeply and imagine taking a tiny microphone and putting it up to that part of your body.
Trust me here!
Ask it to share any messages it wants with you, and listen closely. Ask it to give you one piece of advice you can use right now.
Talk to the feeling in this part of your body and engage it in an honest dialogue about how to make things better.
You might be surprised at what it has to tell you.
And that’s it! That’s the whole exercise. Now, you might be thinking—does this really work, and how is it helpful?
So first, yes, it really does work. Messages will arise from your body that often take the form of compassionate advice.
The advice is usually something like, “slow down.” “Take a break.” “This amount of stress is not worth it.”
I did this recently with myself and talked to tension that was locking up my jaw. It told me, “I can’t take this much pressure. Everything is okay right now. You need to lighten up.”
This exercise helps because it creates awareness of the physical manifestations of stress, tension and anxiety that we usually just ignore until something severe happens.
Often, just noticing where you’re holding tension can help you relax it.
Plus, this little pause can help you get grounded when you’re feeling scattered, as I know we all have recently.
#2: Ask Your Body for Guidance on Decisions
So the second exercise I want to give is about using your body’s wisdom to guide decisions.
You know that phrase “gut feeling”? Well, there’s truth to it. Your body often knows what’s best for you before your mind does.
Here’s how it works:
Think of a decision you’ve been having a hard time making—something that’s been on your mind that might have big pros and cons to it.
Maybe it’s whether to say yes to a new time-consuming service request or to take a week-long family vacation when you really need to write your book.
For more and more folks I’m talking to, the big looming question is whether or not they should stay in academia.
So again, sit somewhere quiet, plant your feet on the ground, and take a deep breath.
Now, imagine saying “yes” to the decision. Notice how your body reacts. Does it feel light, open, and energized? Or heavy, tense, and resistant?
Next, imagine saying “no.” Again, pay attention to how your body responds. Compare the two.
I once did this exercise with a client who was about to meet with their department chair about going up for tenure that year or taking an additional year.
For this person, there were major pros and cons to each of the two options, and they just could not decide which would be better.
So I asked them to close their eyes and imagine going up for tenure that year and to pay attention to their body’s reaction. Did they feel less peace or more peace?
And we did that again with the other option.
Needless to say, there was a clear winner and this person ended up following their body’s advice and feeling confident in the decision.
This exercise is great to get you out of overthinking and back into your intuition.
Summing Things Up
So let’s sum everything up.
I gave you two simple ways to reconnect with your body and tune into its wisdom when things feel like they’re falling apart.
The first was a body message exercise where you talk to the part of your body that is holding the stress or worry that’s bothering you.
The second was an easy way to ask your body for guidance on a tough decision.
Here are a couple of other really small suggestions of things you can do to shift your focus away from challenging thoughts.
Cut a lemon or a lime in half and smell it for thirty seconds.
You can also snap a rubber band on your wrist.
Both of these will get you back into the present moment.
You might also want to do a body scan meditation. There are thousands out there available for free on YouTube or on the Insight Timer meditation app, which I highly recommend you download.
I hope you give these exercises a try. And remember that your body is always there to offer support if you stop and listen.
Also, if you’re having a hard time with the state of the world, you might want to go back and listen to Episode 42 of this podcast: How to Move Forward in Bleak Times.
I give some ideas and strategies that are very appropriate for the current moment.
And I want to end with some thoughts from author Oliver Burkeman, who wrote the incredible book 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.
It’s a quote from a recent edition of his email newsletter called The Imperfectionist. He writes,
“You should make sure your psychological centre of gravity is in your real and immediate world – the world of your family and friends and neighborhood, your work and your creative projects, as opposed to the world of presidencies and governments, social forces and global emergencies.
This will make you happier. It will make you more meaningfully productive. And to whatever extent it falls to you to be an active citizen – to be engaged in politics, say, or in otherwise addressing world events – it’ll make you better at that, too. There really is no downside.”
Until next time, please take good care of yourself—including both your mind and your body.
Don’t forget that if you want to work with me this year, please book a free consultation.
More than ever, we need each other, and we will only get through this if we do it together.
