***Animals teach you YOUR Body Knowledge System®

Tomorrow morning pay close attention to your cat, your dog, your gerbil, your hamster, or your ferret---as soon as they open their eyes to greet the day. The first thing every mammal does after waking is to systematically stretch every muscle, elongating tendons, and breathing fresh air into every cell.

What did you do this morning?

Slap your alarm clock until the noise stopped, throw yourself out of bed, and stagger to the bathroom. Perhaps your morning routine is a shave, a shower, a pass by Starbucks on your way to your desk for the next 10 to 12 hours. Perhaps there is a trip to the gym on your way home, or a pub, and then rushing to pick up your children at school or day care. At home it's homework, or housework, meal prep for the rest of the family, children's bedtime routine, a few minutes for your partner and then falling into bed for not enough time asleep.

Your pet or any mammal on the planet knows better. From birth, every mammal is aware of the body, their body---because their survival depends upon their bodies, not their minds, not the weather, nor other members of their pack, herd, or extended family. In addition, is their awareness that the survival of their species also depends upon their body and its ability to reproduce. Without human distractions, such as greed, lust, envy, and competition for status and power, the mammals maintain their awareness of their bodies from the first breath they inhale to their last exhalation.

During the day, your cat or dog's awareness of their bodies continues in the forefront of their minds. An injury, an infection, an illness gets immediate attention. The body's ability to perform the basics required to survive is the paramount value in every mammal's life. When the animal senses a weakness or a vulnerability, all activity takes a back seat to healing their personal primary survival tool: their body.

When injured, your dog or cat will apply healing saliva to the open wound to prevent infection. When ill with a viral or bacterial infection, your dog or cat will retreat to a safe place to rest and sleep off the invader. When aging makes the end inevitable, the elder will not waste energy in futile attempts to escape his destiny, rather he will do what is necessary to survive for the remainder of his time on earth.

Tonight, pay attention to your pet's nighttime routine. A dog will circle the den checking for snakes or poisonous insects before flopping onto the sleeping place to refresh their bodies in order to survive another day. Listen carefully. Preceding sleep will be a deep inhale followed by a loud exhale that guarantees total relaxation for a sound night's rest.

What is your nightly routine?

A glass or two of wine, an hour of mindless media entertainment on your TV or PC, floss and brush your teeth, perhaps popping a few sleeping pills before falling asleep over a book, a magazine, or late night TV. Do you take the time to ease your body into sleep through meditation, yoga, breathing deeply or simply smiling about what a wonderful day you have just experienced and in anticipation of a better day tomorrow? Mammals have one important and significant advantage over human beings, and that is their ability to “live in the now”. By being present in every moment of every day guarantees their wellbeing and fulfills their purpose on the planet.

Body Knowledge contributes to fulfilling an individual's purpose (for mammals lower on the food chain, it's reproduction). Feral animals experience the purist form of body knowledge. Sensitivity to their physical wellbeing contributes to the quality of life as well as their longevity. Domestication of any species creates space between the natural existence and a life imposed upon the animal by others.

As human beings, we are the most “domesticated” species in the food chain. Therefore, experience the widest gap between the body knowledge we were born with and the influences of our environment. As individuals, in order to conform to external rules, we learn to ignore our bodies, our intuition for guidance. Under the misconception that our survival depends on external elements, we widen the separation as we accept values and standards that are created by others.

If your life is less than perfect, it's past time to return to the gift everyone was given at birth: body knowledge. Pay attention to your body again. As your awareness of your physical well-being increases, so will your overall comfort level. Respect your body, listen to it, take the time, and spend the energy to make it feel good not just on the weekends or vacations, but every day for the rest of your life.