LISTENING TO YOUR SOUL

Can you hear it? What does it sound like? How does it make you feel? How does it make you feel when you become quiet and can listen? How does it make you feel when you become still and you can sense it? These, and so many more questions might come to mind when thinking about ‘listening to your soul.’ They most certainly have for myself.

How do you know when you are listening to your soul? I wish I could pinpoint it and tell you. When I do, I will be sure to write a part two to this blog. Please do not hold your breath though, that is, unless you are engaging one of the bandas, then of course, please hold as long as is safe, lol. All that I can do for now is speak of my own personal experiences and interpretations.

It was in the month of May 2017, that I attended the workshop, ‘Zen in the Garden: Integrating the Soul, Instincts, and the Unconscious,’ led by the long-time holistic health practitioner and master, Paul Chek. ‘Are you ready to learn to use soul guidance, your own instincts, and how to connect to the wisdom of nature (the creative unconscious) so you have a fully functional inner compass? What would your life feel like if you didn’t feel alone and always had the support of your Higher-self, your body, and could read the language of nature?’ Intrigued and curious would be understatements to describe how I felt once I read the description. I signed up immediately.

At that point in my life, I was 27 and was working as a personal trainer at Equinox. I also signed up for my HYF 200-hour teacher training with Travis and Lauren that was taking place overseas two months later in Spain, and had been training Lauren twice a week since the beginning of the year. My mind was very focused on my services, yet I was feeling called. To what exactly? Something bigger, more grand, more expansive. I could feel it. Thinking back on it now, it seems like Spirit was giving me subtle nudges back in the direction of my heart space.

At the beginning of the workshop, we all gathered in a circle, holding hands, breathing deeply, meditating, chanting ‘Om’ in synchronicity followed by getting very quiet and very still. We began speaking to our souls, internally, and having an introductory conversation and check-in. We asked the questions, “Hey soul, show me what a YES feels like,” and, “Hey soul, show me what a NO feels like,” followed up by purely observing and listening to the body’s response from the inside.

Paul asked us, “What did you notice? What did you feel?” I remember thinking that was not the first time that I have felt those subtleties before, but that was the first time that I had ever struck up a conversation with my soul and clearly asked it to ‘show me.’ I then reflected on the many times in my past that I had felt those subtle nudges, ignored them because of uncertainty or what have you, quickly to be followed up by a, ‘darn it, I knew it, I should have listened to that feeling.’

Raise your hand if that resonates with you. Better yet, drop into a meditation after you are done reading this blog, follow your breath in and out, set a timer for 11 minutes and 11 seconds, and simply be. By the way, I definitely questioned if I was doing it right and was overthinking all the things a human might over think in that practice, though I found that with less effort came more connection. It was a great teaching.

For myself, a ‘YES,’ felt light an upward lightness, and a ‘NO,’ felt like an inward heaviness. These are finite subtleties I am talking about here, but honestly, depending on the individual a ‘YES’ might feel like you are floating on a magical carpet alongside unicorns on a beautiful rainbow path with golden stardust, and ‘NO’ might feel like you are sinking deep down into the depths of the ocean with a cannon ball (or a heavy kettlebell if you are like me) on your lap.

Again, I am not here to tell you if you are ‘listening’ right or wrong, or what you should or should not feel, I am simply sharing from my own experiences and inquiries, and like any skill the more you practice the more familiar sensation becomes. Listening to your soul, like any skill we want to develop takes time, practice, repetition, and patience. My advice for anyone who is looking to develop this powerful skill is to practice slowing down, getting quiet, and getting still. At the end of the day, you know better than anyone else. Trust yourself, and remember.

Below are some recommended practices to help you tune in:
power yoga lauren inner dimension tv https://www.innerdimensiontv.com/classes/burn-it-down/

https://www.innerdimensiontv.com/classes/listening/

Yin Yoga https://www.innerdimensiontv.com/classes/intuition-no-music/

https://www.innerdimensiontv.com/classes/inner-outer-space/

By Mychal