What is this woman's body saying?  What do you know about her from looking at this picture? (* see below)

When you learn to respect and understand the language your body uses to communicate with you, your awareness of your position in life grows. You may change your perceptions, enliven your imagination and creativity, resolve adversarial relationships and in general, move beyond your current limits.

This is particularly important for anyone who has or ever had an eating disorder. Even if you have or had disordered eating that didn't reach the level of a full blown eating disorder, understanding
your body's language is more than helpful. It can be a revelation.

Why? When you rely on the sensation of eating or starving or exercising to soothe or numb powerful feelings you bypass your mental awareness of what is going on with you. You skip over your mind and go straight from feeling to body. You can experience your body as a mass of craving that needs to be satisfied because the cravings are unbearable.

If you bear your body sensations and ask yourself, where have I felt this before? you might make some powerful discoveries.

For example, the skin on your arm might tingle to where you feel an itch that borders on a burn. Maybe it's an allergic reaction. Maybe cream or an antihistamine will soothe it. But maybe that is a part of your body that got scalded when you were a child. Something is going on in your life now that is reminding you of a painful experience you’d rather forget.

If you stay with your body feeling and ask, how is this familiar? you may remember something you’ve kept away from your awareness.

Then you can explore what was going on in your life at the time of the original sensation. You may make some connections to your present life.

When you do, your body doesn’t have to send you this message. You can know the information in your conscious mind and so relieve your body of carrying the burden.

When you know more about that past situation you may make think and respond differently to what is going on in your life now.

The next time a body sensation irritates you, especially if it awakens you in the night, of course be aware that you might need medical help. But also, ask yourself, “How is this familiar?” “Where or when did I feel this before?”

You just might open a door to a new awareness that helps you improve your life.

• Do you have recurrent body sensations that are unrelated to a physical illness?
• Do you have a familiar body sensation that drives you to eat?

Ask yourself about those physical sensations and see if any memories come up.