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Meet Kari Bandle, a professional psychic, medium, empath, healer and owner of Sacred Whispers Studio. This podcast dives into the messy, magical and meaningful parts of being human. Each episode blends science with spirituality to explore real life topics along with techniques for empowerment and healing. Sign up for your weekly energy forecast along with the podcast topic in Kari's emails on the main page at: sacredwhispers1111.com
You can also learn more about Kari or book a reading.
These empowering podcasts help you navigate life with more clarity, knowledge, and solution-based compassion for your life's journey.
If your here, you were led here and are reading this for a reason so click the button! (they told me to say that😉)
Hey, you. Welcome back to Medium with a Mic. I'm Carrie Bandle. Today, I wanna go somewhere healing because this one literally started on the road on my way home from a camping trip. So there I was riding home, tired, a little sun worn, feeling that particular kind of good tired that comes from actually being outside in the world.
Kari Bandle:And somewhere along the way, my body started talking, not in a subtle whisper and meditation kind of way. I mean, full on pull over and get me a burger kind of talking. And I mean, a burger like my entire being was leaning toward a burger in the way that a plant leans towards sunlight. Now I had spent all weekend camping, moving around, cooking camp food for others, but eating like a bird, fruits, pasta salad, no meat really to speak of. And all weekend, I had this quiet feeling, not really dramatic, just a steady...
Kari Bandle:That my body needed protein, amino acids specifically. Something in me just knew, and then on the way home, my body confirmed the message loud and clear. And I thought, that is the episode. Because here's the thing. That wasn't just hunger.
Kari Bandle:That was my body's intelligence doing exactly what it's designed to do. And today, we are going to talk about what that actually means scientifically, spiritually, and everything in between. We've talked about your vagus nerve in a previous episode, that incredible highway that runs from your brain stem all the way through your gut and how it's basically the body's spiritual telephone line. Well, today, we're going deeper into the operator. Who's answering the phone?
Kari Bandle:Who's placing the call? And what happens when we're too busy, too distracted, or too disconnected to pick up? So let's talk about the most underestimated healer you've ever met. You, your body, your original medicine. Let's start with the science because it is wild and it validates everything we in the spiritual community have been saying for decades.
Kari Bandle:There is brand new research published just weeks ago in the journal Science out of South Korea and Seoul National University, and what they found is nothing short of jaw dropping. The gut doesn't just digest food. The gut actively monitors your nutritional state, specifically your amino acid levels, and when it detects a deficiency, it sends a two part signal to the brain. There's a fast neural circuit that immediately tells the brain, hey. We're low on essential amino acids.
Kari Bandle:We need protein. And there's a slower hormonal signal that keeps the message going over time so you keep seeking out what your body needs. It's a sophisticated dual track communication system built in, always running, always watching out for you. The lead researcher said it best, Our study shows that the gut is not simply a digestive organ, but an active sensory system that continuously monitors nutritional state and directly guides behavioral decisions. An active sensory system.
Kari Bandle:Can we sit with that for a second? Science just confirmed that your gut is sensing, monitoring, and guiding you. That... That's biology, and it doesn't stop at amino acids. This same gut brain axis which we touched on when we talked about the vagus nerve is involved in mood decision making, immune function, and even what we now call medical intuition.
Kari Bandle:The body sends signals about what it needs long before your logical brain catches up to the message. Here's another piece of this. The neurotransmitters that govern your mood, dopamine, serotonin, are literally built from amino acids. So when your body is running low on protein, it's not just your muscles that notice. Your mood notices.
Kari Bandle:Your focus notices. Your spirit notices. There's a reason some peep... People feel emotionally flat and can't figure out why. It may not be purely existential.
Kari Bandle:Your body might literally be missing the building blocks for joy. Your body is not separate from your spiritual experience. It is part of your spiritual experience. That gut feeling you follow, that is not a metaphor. That is a neurological event.
Kari Bandle:Now, let's put the spiritual lens on this. I've said in previous episodes, especially when we talked about the empath series, that empaths often receive information through the body first before the mental download comes, before the dream or before the vision. There's a physical sensation, a tightening in the chest, a wave of heaviness, an inexplicable craving, a sudden urge to stop. Your body is a receiver, and like any receiver, it works best when it's tuned and tended to. I want you to think about this.
Kari Bandle:Indigenous healers, shamans, and and wisdom traditions across every culture on earth understood that the body holds information. They didn't separate the physical from the spiritual. The body was the sacred vessel through which spiritual messages arrived. This isn't ancient superstition. It's a knowing that we, modern, over scheduled, screen addicted humans, have largely lost and are now paying the price for it.
Kari Bandle:So how do you start learning this language? Because I wanna be practical here. I'm I'm not here to just make you feel good and send you home with good vibes. I want you to walk away with something you can actually use. So first, start noticing before interpreting.
Kari Bandle:Most of us are so used to immediately labeling a physical sensation that we skip right past the message. We feel tired and we think I'm lazy instead of asking what is this tiredness about. We feel a craving, and we think, I have no willpower. Instead of asking, what is my body actually needing right now? Start by just noticing.
Kari Bandle:What does the sensation feel like? Where is it located? Is it urgent or quiet? Does it come with an emotion? Does it get stronger when you think about certain things?
Kari Bandle:Second, distinguish between body wisdom and habit loops. Not every craving is a message. Some cravings are just habits, old emotional patterns, or stress responses. Sugar cravings when you're overwhelmed, maybe your nervous system reaching for a quick fix, not your body asking for sugar. This takes practice and honesty.
Kari Bandle:One question I love to ask myself, is this craving coming from a place of depletion or from a place of numbing? Depletion cravings feel more like hunger, quiet, physical, persistent. Numbing cravings feel more like urgency, emotional, anxious, to something happening in your life. Third, track your body across time. Keep a simple journal, not a rigid diet journal.
Kari Bandle:I'm not suggesting that. Just a few notes. Craved iron rich food all week, period arrived, of course, or felt the need to be outside constantly this month. Season change, body needed grounding. When you look at patterns over time, you start to see that your body has been talking to you in a consistent language.
Kari Bandle:You just haven't been fluent in yet. And fourth, honor the signal before you analyze it. This is a big one. We spend so much time analyzing and not enough time responding. If you're tired, rest.
Kari Bandle:If you're thirsty, drink. If you've been craving something real and whole and nourishing, eat it. Trust the first response before the second guess. This is directly tied to the vagus nerve work we talked about in our previous episode. When you chronically override your body's signals, you're...
Kari Bandle:You train your nervous system into a state of distrust. You teach your own body that its messages don't matter, and that over time is how people end up disconnected. Third, track your body across time. Keep a simple log, not a rigid diet journal. I'm not suggesting that.
Kari Bandle:Just a few notes. Craved iron rich foods all week, period arrived, of course, or felt the need to be outside constantly this month. Season changed. Maybe your body needed grounding or some vitamins from the sun. When you look at patterns over time, you start to see that your body has been talking to you in consistent language.
Kari Bandle:You just haven't been fluent in yet. Fourth, honor the signal before you analyze it. This is a big one. We spend so much time analyzing and not enough time responding. If you're tired, rest.
Kari Bandle:If you're thirsty, drink. If you've been craving something real and whole and nourishing, eat it. Trust the first response before the second guess. This is directly tied to the vagus nerve work we talked about in our previous episode. When you chronically override your body's signals, you train your nervous system into a state of distrust.
Kari Bandle:You teach your own body that its messages don't matter and that over time is how people end up disconnected from their intuition entirely. So listening to your body is not indulgent. It is a spiritual practice. Now I want to zoom out because this topic has a much bigger application than protein cravings. The body speaks about emotional wounds too, unexplained physical symptoms like reoccurring tension in a specific area, chronic fatigue that no test explains, persistent gut issues despite a clean diet.
Kari Bandle:These are sometimes the body holding unprocessed emotional and spiritual material. This is not me saying your illness is your fault because... Hear me. This is not what I'm saying, but it is me saying that the body is the soul, and the soul are not separate and the body will carry what the mind refuses to look at. And research in psychoneuroimmunology, which is the science of how emotions, the nervous system, and the immune system talk to each other, been showing for decades that stress, trauma, and emotional suppression have measurable physical consequences.
Kari Bandle:This is published science. The body keeps the score, as Wessel van der Kolk famously titled his book. And here's the spiritual angle. Those physical patterns, those reoccurring symptoms, those areas that hold tension, they are often pointing directly at the shadow material we've been discussing in our shadow work episodes. The jaw tension that arrives every time you swallow your voice.
Kari Bandle:The chest tightness that shows up around certain relationships. The stomach knots every Sunday night because Monday means going back to something that is wrong for your soul. Your body is trying to get your attention, not to scare you and not to punish you, but it loves you, and it knows what you need even when you don't. When you start doing your inner work, your shadow work, your inner child healing, your energy clearing, Your physical body often responds. People report sleeping better, digestion improving, chronic tension releasing, energy returning.
Kari Bandle:That is not a coincidence. That is the body exhaling because it finally got to put something down. You are your own best healer, and that's not because you don't need doctors, support, or community. You do. We all do.
Kari Bandle:But because no one knows the terrain of you the way you do, no test can measure what your body already knows. No expert can feel what's living in your chest at three in the morning. You are the primary expert on you. And the more you practice listening, like really listening to what your body is communicating, the more fluent you become in the most important language you will ever speak. Let me give you five quick practices to start building your body literacy today.
Kari Bandle:Number one, the morning body scan. Before you touch your phone in the morning, spend two minutes with your eyes closed. Start at the top of your head and slowly scan down to your feet. Fick... Don't fix anything.
Kari Bandle:Don't judge anything. Just notice what's there, what's tight, what's tired, what feels open, and what's asking for something. Two, the craving pause. When you have a craving, food, rest, movement, anything, pause for just ten seconds before you act on it or dismiss it. Ask, what does this feel like in my body, and what might it actually be about?
Kari Bandle:Three, the energy inventory. Once a week, ask yourself, what drained me this week and what filled me? Pay attention to the physical experience of both. Energy depletion and energy nourishment have physical signatures. Learn yours.
Kari Bandle:Four, the symptom conversation. If you have a recurring symptom, not a medical emergency, but something reoccurring, try this. Put your hand on that area of your body and say out loud or in your head, what are you trying to tell me? Then free write for five minutes without stopping. You may be surprised what comes through.
Kari Bandle:Number five, the nature reset. We talked about the vagus nerve and time in nature is one of the most powerful ways to reset it. When your body is dysregulated, go outside. Not, not to exercise necessarily, just to be in it. Let the ground hold you and let the light land on your skin.
Kari Bandle:Your nervous system knows what to do when you get out of its way. Here's what I want you to take away from today. You are not a brain with a body attached to it. You are not a spiritual being who unfortunately got stuck in a physical form. You are a whole integrated magnificent system, body, mind, and soul, and every single part of that system is intelligent.
Kari Bandle:Every single part of it is talking to you, and every single part of it is on your side. Your body was the first to know you needed a burger. Your body was the first to know that relationship wasn't right. Your body was the first to know you needed to leave, to rest, to stay, to change. It has never stopped trying to reach you.
Kari Bandle:The only question is whether you're ready to listen. I'm your host, Carrie Bandle, and I thank you so much for being here with me today. If this episode moves something in you, share it with someone. Leave a review. If you have suggestions, feedback, or tops...
Kari Bandle:Topics that you'd like to hear covered, email me from my website. I'd love to hear from you. Also, if you want to keep this weekly labor of love and also keep it ad free, you can buy me a coffee at sacredwhispers1111.com on the podcast page. Every cup genuinely helps. I'll see you next week.
Kari Bandle:Until then, stay in your body, trust the signal, and know that you already have everything you need. Keep listening to those whispers of wisdom.