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Golda Poretsky, HHC
http://www.bodylovewellness.com

I was wallowing happily in Birthday Land this week and didn’t get around to writing a new post.  So this is a slightly edited “oldie but goodie.”  I hope you enjoy it!

Since I am essentially an advice columnist (and someone who coaches and counsels for a living), I am about to give away what amounts to state secrets.

The big secret is — You can trust yourself.

When I work with my clients as they transition from dieting and self hatred to intuitive eating and body love, one of the biggest parts of the journey is supporting them in learning to trust themselves.

Sometimes, that first act of self-trust is enrolling in one my programs.   You have to decide to trust your gut and value yourself enough to make the commitment to work with me.

Similarly, you found this blog, and perhaps certain of our weekly encounters really resonated with you and you took them to heart. Perhaps you practiced some of the tips, even if they felt a little silly at first. You did that because some part of you – that part that’s connected to the deep knowing that we all have as humans – told you that trying that tip was going to be healing in some way.

A big part of the work that I do involves healing and transforming your connection to your body. I do this in a number of different ways. In this blog, we’ve used mainly a mind-centered approach towards changing your thoughts about your body. This mind-centered approach can be very healing, especially for mind-centered people who like to read blogs!

Another pathway of change that you can employ is starting to love your body through your senses. This body-centered approach is also very healing, as you learn to slow down and savor your body through feeling into your senses.

Many times when we talk about the senses, we think mainly of the 5 senses — sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Exploring and savoring each of these senses is a great practice for getting in touch with your body, but there is also a 6th sense, which is our intuition and our connection with the Universe.

The sixth sense, I believe, ties together all of our senses. It is also more than that, as it connects us with knowledge that we don’t think we have. This 6th sense allows us to know, on a deep level, when something is right and something is not right.

You know when you’re hungry or full. You know when you’re tired or angry or annoyed. You know when someone is trying to convince you of something that isn’t for you. You know what you need and what you don’t. Learning to trust that knowledge is the essence of embracing the 6th sense.

We’ve all learned to heap logic atop our intuitions. Intuition has been discredited for years. Don’t make the mistake of discrediting your intuition. Listen to it, and it will begin to speak louder; just give it time. When you can really hear your intuitive sense, you will increasingly feel as though you’ve entered into the flow of your life.

Your practice this week is to connect with your sixth sense. Pay attention to your hunches. Notice what your inner voice says. Notice what your typical reaction to that voice is. Is it respect or do you discredit it? Try following a hunch and see where it leads you. The more you learn to trust your intuition, the more you will learn to trust yourself.

Golda is a certified holistic health counselor and founder of Body Love Wellness, a program designed for plus-sized women who are fed up with dieting and want support to stop obsessing about food and weight. To learn more about Golda and her work, click here.