How to use your body as a pendulum

Nutrition is a funny thing, and there are often strong validations for every opposing theory out there. Raw vs Paleo vs Atkins vs GAPs vs Macrobiotics vs whatever it is they come up with next! So how are we supposed to navigate our way through all of this? Is there even a right answer?

One of the most powerful concepts I was taught during my studies as a Health Coach was that of bio-individuality. And that is, what works for one person, may well be another’s poison. Each of us are entirely unique and there really is no cookie cutter diet we should all be following.

Which brings me to my next point: who can we really trust when we are weighing up which programme to follow? Or even simpler, who can we trust when we are navigating our way through the supermarket aisles? It’s not just diets that are confusing – its food! The way some products are labelled is just so cryptic it makes no sense! Take the word ‘natural’ for example – the most over used and misrepresented word in the world of food marketing. Natural does not mean anything – it doesn’t mean organic, it doesn’t mean free from additives, it doesn’t mean safe. A product describing itself as ‘natural’ can well have a whole bunch of nasties like high fructose corn syrup in there.

Anyway, my answer is, YOU. We can be our own Food Detectives, taking care to ask questions, read labels and see through those jazz hands. But, when those situations come up that are a wee bit tricky to define good from bad, and you need a bit of help deciphering the answer, then you can tap into your own body’s wisdom to ask yourself if this food/diet/supplement (or job, relationship, car, home etc) is right for you.

How? By using your body as a pendulum.

We subconsciously know everything that is going on in our own bodies, and the use of a pendulum can work as an extension of our own inner wisdom to tap into what we already know. But in the absence of a pendulum, we can actually stand very still, and very calm, and ask the body for a response (besides – you’d have to be a particularly crazy cat to be walking around the supermarket aisle with your crystal swinging away muttering to yourself…”are those chocolate biscuits going to be good for my health or bad?”!). Here’s how you do it:

The Step by Step to Body Pendulum Action:

1. Stand nice and still, and settle into a calm, quiet mindset as best you can within your surroundings.
2. Close your eyes if you feel more comfortable, and ask your body, “please show me a YES”. Relax and you will feel your body sway a little in a particular direction, take note of where your body is pulled.
3. Take a breath and come back to centre, and ask yourself to now show you a NO. Take note again of which direction you are pulled in.
4. Now, the fun part – ask a question. Remember though – ask a silly question, get a silly answer! Try and be specific and you will get a clear response. For example, “is consuming wheat at the moment beneficial for me,” or “Is my caffeine intake causing my migraines” or “is this product safe for me to consume.”
5. Relax and allow your body to answer. 

How easy is that? I love this because it is just another way of ‘listening to your gut’. Just don’t do it in front of people while they’re talking to you. If they’re not awesomely cool like you they may think you’re a little strange.