One thing that I see time and time again in my work (and within myself!) is our tendency to ignore our intuition and internal signals. It’s a story that’s familiar to so many of us. Pushing ourselves, over-training, over-exercising, all the while ignoring what our bodies are trying to tell us. And it all stems from this belief that if we get the “perfect body” then we’ll be happy and all our problems will be solved. It’s what diet culture has taught us.

My guest today, Emma Rawlinson, a Transformational Health and Life Coach based in London, has been down that path. Her journey to self-love began when she lost her dad suddenly in Summer 2019. In her grief, she tried to numb herself by throwing herself into exercise, training every single day (HIIT workouts, CrossFit, Spin classes, Bodybuilding competitions). Her body was screaming for rest but she ignored the signals and continued to punish herself. Then one day she woke up and realized that something was not right and embarked on her journey to real self-love. Her biggest shift? Trusting her intuition, not her ego.

As Emma tells us, by listening to your intuition (that “gut-feeling”) and tuning in to your body’s signals, we can harness incredible power to really embrace ourselves and our bodies. We can begin to recognize how intuition feels in our body and honor what it’s telling us. And the more we pay attention, the louder it will get. For me, I will stop and listen to my body before I do anything. Eat, workout, movement. Whatever it is, I take a minute and really tune in so that I am honoring my needs and showing as my best self possible.

You already have all of the power and magic inside of you to honor yourself. Start by practicing embodiment, breathwork, and meditation. Hold onto that vision of your future self until your body catches up!

To learn more about Emma, head over to https://www.instagram.com/iamemmarawlinson/