How Simone Biles Is A Role Model For Body Listening

On July 27th, 2021 Simone Biles, stepped up to do her vaulting routine at the Olympics. Mid-air, she got what gymnasts call the twisties when your brain feels disconnected from your body. She luckily landed safely on the ground. Immediately after, she left the room and came back to announce she was pulling out of the Olympics.

Simone Biles is known for performing some of the world's hardest gymnastics routines. All over social media this past week, individuals have been cheering her on as a role model for women all around the world and of all ages that your self care needs to come first.

In interviews, she has said:

"I say put mental health first, because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to. So it's OK sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong of a competitor and person that you really are — rather than just battle through it....We have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do."

In 2018, Simone came forward to share that her coach had been sexually abusing her. After, she kept going for two years to prepare for the next Olympics. Then Covid happened and the Olympics was pushed for another year. So here is a woman who has navigated so much physically and emotionally and she still showed up to the Olympics. For her to say no more is a sign of just how strong she is.

There is a saying that you cannot heal in the same environment that made you sick. I'm curious how Simone's body is getting an opportunity to heal now on deeper and deeper levels with her former coach no longer in her life. How was it for her body to step back into a familiar environment in a brand new way? This is another example of her bravery and the public role model she is becoming for everyone everywhere that after trauma has occurred we need to put our mental, physical, and emotional care as a top priority.

How often have you pushed through the day only to find yourself overeating at night? How often have you forced yourself to go to the gym when really you just wanted to lie down and take a nap? How many times have you said yes when you really wanted to finally say no?

At some point, your body is going to take over for you.

For Simone, it might have been the twisties where her body was saying no more, we've had enough. For you, your wake up call is already there in subtle ways. It is the confusion around choosing a food over and over again that you know doesn't resonate with your body and yet you keep choosing it. It is the distracting thoughts of body judgment taking you away from the present moment. It is the feeling of disconnection from yourself.

Our bodies talk to us every single day. To hear the messages it is sending we need to slow down and be with what is. We need to notice our bodily sensations, urges, and reactions letting us know when our body needs rest, when it needs to be challenged, when something is no longer working for it. This is where you get to experience your food and body image concerns as a window revealing to you where you're being called to grow. Perhaps Simone Biles and her NO heard around the world can provide a wave of hope that if she can put her physical and emotional self care as a top priority in a pivotal moment, in such a public way this is available for you too.