These days a lot of time and effort goes into thinking things through, driving towards a goal, pushing to get stuff done. We live in a very masculine world, with the feminine traits of receiving, allowing, feeling rather than thinking, and using intuition to steer through life are less acceptable and less normal in most circles.

The issue with this style of living is that the doing striving achieving without the complimentary arts of downtime and tapping into your inner wisdom leaves us unbalanced, unmotivated and often feeling a bit darn stuck. So how do you begin to tap into a gentler way of treating yourself?

For starters, pay attention to these warnings signs.

3 warning signs you should not ignore

PAIN IN THE NECK

Most of seem to think that some sort of physical pain is normal. We crick our necks from ‘sleeping funny’ or suffer from lower back pain after sitting at a desk all day and it really is nothing out of the ordinary. The real truth is that physical pain is a massive neon sign that somewhere somehow imbalance has developed in your life. And the next step is understanding that all physical pain has an emotional and spiritual component. Life must be designed to sustain you, to make space for feelings of ease + flow + grace to be constant companions in life. And yet so many of us are stuck in the mindsets that life is not meant to be easy

So instead of reaching for the Panadol or having a few drinks to physically relax consider this: the state of your physical, emotional and spiritual health is the accumulations of every single thing you experience, think and feel in your life. From the food you eat, to your internal mindset, how much downtime you allow yourself, and interactions in relationships ultimately all effect your health.

Many ancient traditions including Oriental Medicine gift us the fundamental precept that the emotional and spiritual also effect the physical. So ignoring or masking physical pain with medication allows the imbalance to deepen, often allowing the underlying cause to grow in force and ferocity. This often leads to major disease including cancer and heart disease. For some, this gives us enough of a wakeup call to pay attention to our health, rather than soldiering on with a Codral.

What would be possible if we paid attention to ourselves, our physical manifestation of how balanced we are, and honoured ourselves with attention and care we deserved to unravel the cause of the pain on a physical and emotional level?

WANTING TO SCREAM OR CRY ALL THE TIME

Similarly to physical pain, emotional and spiritual symptoms of imbalance and the need for nurture are manifested in the form of depression, anxiety, feelings of overwhelm or stuckness or those days when you just simply feel like you cannot cope anymore with the demands of life.

Although there is of course a place for treatment of acute depression and anxiety with medication, there are also large bodies of evidence to suggest that the same impact can be made by altering our lifestyle and stress factors. When you think about the fact that at least 80% of all major disease is preventable with lifestyle and stress management solutions, it becomes evident that we have lost the art of self-care.

Depression, anxiety and other strong emotional responses do not occur simply as a result of there being ‘something wrong’ with you or that some people cope better than others. In fact it is a massive neon sign saying WRONG WAY GO BACK. Something in your life, and often a whole series of things, are bringing to bear too much pressure and no space for relief. Again this has a massive impact in day to day health and of course the over use of medical fixes to mask this emotional pain means that again imbalance is pushed to breaking point.

CONSTANTLY CRAVING ESCAPE

Do you have a recurring daydream that you will win lotto, or suddenly be gifted with the ability to just walk away from your life. I often find female clients – usually working Mums who are struggling to juggle their own health + desires and the demands of business + family – saying things like ‘I just wish I could run away’.

Now don’t get me wrong we all have days like this, but when you are craving a release from daily life to the point where this becomes a regular thought or wish, it’s time to take a good hard look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what you truly need.

Life must be designed to sustain you, to make space for feelings of ease + flow + grace to be constant companions in life. And yet so many of us are stuck in the mindsets that life is not meant to be easy, I have to work hard in a job I hate because that’s the only way to make money, I am stuck in this relationship because it’s too hard to leave.

These mindsets poison your energy fields. And your energy creates your reality.

These mindsets block your potential. By investing in a belief that stops you aligning yourself with life being easy and joyful, you are in effect putting out a massive NO THANKS sign on the front yard of your soul. No thanks Universe, I don’t want any blessings. No thanks Universe, I don’t deserve this. No thanks Universe, I am not good enough.

So next time you find yourself craving escape, consider what you feel is really possible for you. If you are limited by your beliefs, it’s time to have a clear out!

Kylie Patchett

Kylie Patchett is the author of The Tall Poppy Project:: Stand Tall + Stake a Claim On Your Delicious Life. An inspirational speaker, and former medical scientist turned holistic health coach, she is the founder of The Tall Poppy Project: an online holistic health oasis for gorgeous gals.

She delivers life-transforming online courses and coaching programs designed to bring awareness to true integrated holistic health and the impact that learning radical self-respect can have on your time on this gorgeous planet. You can find Kylie on Facebook and Twitter @kylie_patchett or at www.kyliepatchett.com .

Top image: Credit