This article was originally shared with my Substack readers.

I was sixteen when my ankles started swelling after cross country meets. The pain was sharp, unexpected. Doctors ran tests, found nothing concrete, prescribed something for the swelling, and told me to rest.

I sat out the rest of my season. The swelling disappeared, and life moved on.

Until it didn’t.

Years later, I’d wake up feeling like my joints were rusted together. “This must be what aging feels like,” I told myself in my late twenties. By my early thirties, the whispers had become screams: fevers, rashes, exhaustion so deep I couldn’t get out of bed some mornings.

That early ankle swelling? It was my body’s first attempt at getting my attention. Learning to listen to your body before small signals turn into full-blown crisis isn’t just smart, it’s how you reclaim your life.

The Quiet Signals Your Body Sends Daily

Most of us barrel through our days ignoring the subtle cues our bodies offer. A little extra fatigue? We blame our schedule. Digestive weirdness? Must’ve been something we ate. Irritability creeping in? Stress, probably.

These early signs of imbalance are your body’s version of a gentle tap on the shoulder. Maybe you’re waking up with a headache three mornings in a row. Or your stomach feels off after eating certain foods you used to handle just fine. Perhaps you’re getting that weird afternoon crash that requires a second (or third) coffee just to function.

Those rusted joints in 2010 were whispers I dismissed. “I thought it was all part of getting old,” I told myself. But I was only in my late twenties. My body was speaking. I just wasn’t fluent in its language yet.

The trick is catching these signals before they escalate. When you notice something feels different—not necessarily bad, just different—that’s worth paying attention to.

Building Your Body Awareness Practice

Here’s the thing about body awareness: it’s a skill, not a talent. You don’t either have it or you don’t. You build it, one small check-in at a time.

Start with this: before you reach for your morning coffee, pause for thirty seconds. How does your body actually feel right now? Tight shoulders? Heavy legs? Clear-headed or foggy? Don’t judge it, just notice it.

Try keeping a simple notes app on your phone where you jot down patterns. “Felt great Tuesday morning after eating dinner early Monday night.” Or “Stomach upset every time I have that protein bar.” You’re not writing a novel here. Just bread crumbs that help you see the bigger picture over time.

This isn’t about becoming obsessed with every twinge. It’s about partnership. Your body talks, you listen. Simple as that.

When I finally started eliminating gluten, sugar, and seed oils from my diet (under guidance from a naturopath), I noticed something interesting. On days I stuck to my plan, I’d wake up less stiff two days later. The mind-body connection became impossible to ignore once I started actually paying attention.

Your Intuition Knows Things Your Brain Hasn’t Figured Out Yet

Ever get that feeling something’s just off? Not wrong exactly, but not quite right either?

That’s intuition, and it’s one of your most valuable tools for intuitive healing. It shows up as a nudge, a hesitation, sometimes just a weird sense that you should or shouldn’t do something.

I experienced this when traditional medicine wasn’t working. Multiple specialists, aggressive treatments, medications with side effects worse than my symptoms. Something in my gut said there had to be another way. When a pharmacist friend mentioned a chiropractor who practiced naturopathy and energy medicine, that intuitive voice said “yes” even though my logical brain was skeptical.

Get a free copy of our 13 Worst Things Doctors Said (to real patients)

“She swore he changed her life,” I remember thinking, “so how could I not give him a try?”

Your intuition and healing journey are deeply connected. But here’s the catch: intuition gets stronger when you actually listen to it. Every time you honor that inner guidance, even in small ways, you’re building trust with yourself. Every time you override it and regret it later, you’re teaching yourself to doubt.

Start small. If something doesn’t feel right about a food, a situation, or even a doctor’s recommendation, pause. You don’t have to rebel or make a scene. Just pause and ask yourself what feels true.

Rebuilding Self-Trust One Decision at a Time

Many of us have been conditioned to doubt ourselves, especially when it comes to our own bodies. We’ve had doctors dismiss our symptoms, friends tell us we’re overreacting, or our own brains convince us we’re being dramatic.

I spent weeks in 2012 experiencing extreme fatigue, fevers, and rashes before my elevated inflammatory markers finally led to a dual diagnosis of IBS and Lupus. Even as a healthcare worker myself, I struggled with the frustration and fear of not being taken seriously.

Self-trust doesn’t come back overnight. It rebuilds slowly, through consistent small acts.

Rest when you’re tired, even if you “should” be productive. Choose the food that makes you feel good, not just the one that fits your macros. Say no to plans when your body’s telling you it needs a quiet night. These aren’t selfish acts. They’re how you demonstrate to yourself that you’re worth listening to.

For those dealing with autoimmune wellness or chronic inflammation awareness, this practice becomes even more critical. Your body’s feedback loop is often more sensitive, more insistent. Learning to work with it instead of against it can mean the difference between manageable symptoms and a full flare-up.

Daily Check-Ins That Actually Help

Here are a few questions to reconnect with your body’s wisdom:

What signals have I been brushing aside? Maybe it’s that persistent tightness in your chest when you think about work, or the way certain foods consistently leave you bloated.

When do I feel most at ease in my body? Is it after a walk? In the morning before you check your phone? After eating certain meals? Find those moments and create more of them.

What habits consistently drain me versus restore me? Be honest. That evening glass of wine might relax you in the moment, but how do you feel the next morning?

What does balanced actually feel like for me? Not for someone else, not according to a wellness influencer, but for you. Emotional and physical balance looks different for everyone.

These gentle self-care practices don’t require hours of meditation or expensive retreats. Just a few minutes of honest reflection can shift everything.

From Whispers to Wisdom

My healing journey has been long, spanning from that first ankle swelling at sixteen to now, decades later, still managing my symptoms through a mix of carnivore and keto approaches. I still have difficult mornings, sometimes difficult days. But I’m also helping other people navigate their own rocky terrain now.

“I wouldn’t say my diagnosis was the best thing that ever happened to me,” I admit, “but it certainly has changed my life in unexpected ways.”

That’s the gift of learning to listen. Your body isn’t your enemy, even when it feels like it’s working against you. It’s trying to keep you safe, trying to get your attention, trying to guide you back to balance.

Every ache, every unexpected symptom, every moment of fatigue—these aren’t punishments. They’re information. The sooner you learn to hear the whispers, the less often you’ll have to endure the shouts.

Your body has been talking to you your whole life. Maybe it’s time to really listen.

Start today. Start small. Notice one thing your body’s been trying to tell you, and honor it. That’s where rebuilding resilience begins, not with grand gestures, but with small acts of self-awareness habits that say “I hear you, and you matter.”

Because you do.