Following a decade in law firms where I’d spent many years as a law firm marketing executive, I decided I needed a change. I was a single parent with a 5 year old at the time. One day, while on a business trip in New Orleans, I got a call from my son’s new school saying they couldn’t find him. Turns out, he was actually hiding on the playground. Not knowing this at the time, panic set in and I redefined my priorities. When I returned, I announced, “I am going to become a teacher. Then, my son and I can go to the same school and have summers off together.”

Nobody thought this was a good idea but me–and my son.

I applied to Masters’ programs, put in my notice, took out as much financial aid as I could find, and set off for my new adventure. While waiting for grad school to start, I decided to go to do something completely different than anything I’d done before.

Massage school. I did an intense program to become a massage therapist thinking I could make money on the side during grad school. (Nobody told me I’d need 27 hours a day just to do grad school and raise a child. Not that it would have mattered.)

At the Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing (IPSB) in Culver City, California I was around a very different crowd then I had ever been before. The students talked about energy, flower essences, flow, and body memory. I had an anatomy coloring book.

We would do exercises to bring these concepts to life. I remember one body memory exercise very well. You find a spot on your body and hold it for a long period of time. Memories live there. They actually rise to the surface if you give space and time for it to happen. Go ahead. Try it. Nobody’s looking.

This happens with our hunger patterns. Because the gut is very similar to the brain, it remembers in a Pavlovian way what we have done before. For example, when I was 235 pounds, I would consistently eat a large dinner around 7:00 p.m. Today, I have changed this pattern and usually eat my heaviest meal around 1:00 p.m. Still, at 7:00 p.m., my stomach remembers that old body memory from two years ago. Journaling helped me see the importance of building new patterns that support my long term health goals. Eventually, I know my body will replace those old memories with the new, healthier ones if I’m persistent. And, hey, Pit Bulls got nothing on me.

What body memories are getting in your way? Which old doors are you opening that do not support your health goals? Knock on new ones and peek in. You may just find what you are looking for on the other side.