A hunch. A gut feeling. A sense that something is about to happen. Repeated sightings of an image, a number, a quote. A sensation in the body that hints of danger. A peaceful feeling that says everything is okay and we can proceed.

These are just a few ways humans speak about intuition. Others describe intuition as "the sixth sense." In my experience, intuition is a deep, belly- and heart-based knowing, a connection that is felt first in my physical body and then processed by my brain.

For years I've been intrigued by what some researchers have coined "the second brain" and the enteric nervous system. This belly brain and nervous system innervate all the organs of the gastrointestinal tract and send nerve signals up to the brain in the head. The abdominal brain has over 500 million neurons, produces half of our dopamine, and produces 95% of our serotonin (as compared to the 5% produced in the cranial brain).

The second brain directly impacts our mood, which is why gut health is important to overall well-being.

The enteric nervous system sends and receives impulses, records experiences in the body, and influences emotions. With the help of the vagus nerve, which serves as a modulator between the gut brain and the head brain, our bodies can sense (or intuit) and send those signals up to the rational brain for processing and response. (This is a super simplified explanation and if you're curious I invite you to take a deeper dive on your own because it's really cool stuff!)

What really fascinates me about our gut feelings is that they are logical, but because they are not processed in the rational brain where language is processed it's often difficult to articulate them. This is why we often say, "I can't find the right words to explain this, but I just have a gut feeling that..." something might happen.

This week, I invite you to pay deeper attention to the ways in which your intuition speaks to you. Note those moments when you have "a feeling" or a "seemingly illogical sense" about something or someone. Here are a few particular ways to tap into the power of your intuition.

• Pay attention to your senses. Over the last 5 weeks, I invited you to more deeply attune to your senses. You can revisit those posts on my blog. Are you repeatedly drawn to a specific smell, sight, or sound?

• Notice physical sensations in your body. Do you feel jittery at the thought of a conversation or meeting you need to have? What is that chronic tugging between your shoulder blades saying to you?

• Fully feel your emotions. If you're angry, can you sit with that feeling and explore the root of the upset?

• Notice when things feel heavy versus light. I don't mean when you're lifting objects, but rather this: as you ponder a choice or an action, does your body feel weighed down or buoyant? In my experience, feeling dead weight spells disaster so I wait until I feel ease and peacefulness.

• Explore if a situation allows you to feel open or closed. As with the heavy and light example above, a decision that creates openness in your body is often intuition guiding you forward. If you feel closed off or closed up, it's often a sign to pause, reevaluate, reset and then react when you're more open to receive or step forward.

I'll close with two dating stories that I hope illustrate the power of intuition. Right before the pandemic began, I was driving to meet a man for a 3rd date. I had stated in earlier conversations with him my intentions of wanting a monogamous partner, but as it was early in the getting-to-know you phase, we hadn't had richer conversations about this. As I was driving to meet this guy, I was profoundly anxious: my heart was thumping, I felt nervous, and had a sense that the date was not going to go well. Still, my rationale brain told me I was being ridiculous ("You know this guy, give it a shot, how will you really know for sure if you don't go?") so I kept driving. I'll spare you all the details, but as we were parting ways after lunch I told him I wanted to kiss him. He abruptly pulled away and informed me that he was seeing multiple women and didn't want that level of closeness with me. Thanks for the honesty, but OUCH. I sobbed the entire drive home, mostly because my intuition had SCREAMED at me en route to the date and I had ignored it...and because I was really hurt.

Recently I had a first date with a different man, someone I've known for years very casually. With all COVID dating boxes checked, I drove to meet him and was super present to my body as I did so. No nerves. No physiological sensations screaming to turn the car around and go home. I felt relaxed. My breath was steady. All internal signs pointed to yes. It was a really sweet, well-connected first date. But mark my word, had ANY alarms sounded in my body, even if I was a mile from meeting him, I'd have gone home.

One of my super powers is helping women develop better relationships with their bodies and their intuition. While developing a more intimate relationship with yourself can be super uncomfortable, doing so can be a game changer and positively impact all areas of your life. To learn more about how I can help you with BodyMind Coaching, book a Coaching Discovery Call and we'll see if working together is an aligned choice for us both.

I love hearing how my content lands for you! Please feel free to jot me a note or connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.

Until next time, listen to your intuition. Your brain will try to override the power of your gut, but listen, listen, listen!

Love,

Jennifer