Podcast Summary: Mantra with Jemma Sbeg

Episode: I Trust That My Body Knows What It's Doing
Host: Jemma Sbeg (OpenMind)
Date: October 27, 2025

Episode Overview

This week on Mantra, Jemma Sbeg invites listeners to explore the mantra, “I trust that my body knows what it’s doing.” The episode unpacks the roots of bodily mistrust, shares insights on rebuilding that relationship, and offers practical tips, reflective prompts, and personal stories—all aimed at helping listeners deepen self-trust, especially in the context of health anxiety, food, and rest. The tone is warm, encouraging, and candid, designed for anyone ready to tune into their own body’s wisdom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Struggle to Trust our Bodies

• Many people experience bodily mistrust, questioning natural signals and instincts.
• Health anxiety (hypochondria) exaggerates this mistrust, causing persistent fears despite medical reassurance.
• Modern culture encourages overriding bodily cues in favor of productivity and external expectations.

“We doubt its signals, we question its instincts, and I think sometimes we even feel betrayed by it.”
— Jemma Sbeg (07:02)

• Health anxiety manifests as a compulsion to seek reassurance (constant Googling, doctor’s visits, etc.), which only reinforces anxiety.

“It’s that sense…of never being able to fully relax or always scanning for danger, always feeling unsafe in your own skin.”
— Jemma Sbeg (08:12)

Interpreting the Body’s Messages

• The body is inherently wise—self-regulating, designed for survival, constantly working to heal and protect.
• Most people are not ill, but are disconnected from their body’s natural signals.
• Ignoring hunger, overriding tiredness, or externalizing eating habits are common forms of self-betrayal.

“What our body asks for is what it should receive—balance, nutrients, goodness, fats, carbs.”
— Jemma Sbeg (11:25)

Food & Hunger: The Clearest Example

• Societal conditioning teaches us to suppress or control hunger, leading to deep-seated mistrust.
• Overriding hunger cues can result in both psychological dissonance (guilt, food moralizing) and physiological chaos (restrict/binge cycles).
• Bodily cravings serve as messages: craving salt or carbs is often a sign of specific needs.

“Hunger is not the enemy. It is a finely tuned biological signal designed to protect us.”
— Jemma Sbeg (12:18)

Culture vs. Rest: Devaluing Recovery

• Fatigue is a key message—a “source of wisdom,” not a failure.
• Ignoring tiredness leads to deeper burnout, compromised immune function, and emotional instability.

"Fatigue is actually a source of wisdom. It is absolutely a very clear sign from our body that we are not taking care of it.”
— Jemma Sbeg (14:22)

• Modern culture’s attitude (sleep is expendable, caffeine over sleep) endangers health and dulls well-being.

“Sleep is your lifeline. Sleep is life.”
— Jemma Sbeg (23:56)

Shifting the Relationship: From Adversary to Ally

• Reinterpreting bodily signals as protective guidance, not threats.
• Trusting the body's processes can ease anxiety and encourage partnership instead of punishment.

“If we truly believed that our body is always working in our best interest, the entire relationship we would have with ourselves would shift.”
— Jemma Sbeg (14:54)

Personal Story: Learning Body Trust the Hard Way

[17:00]
Jemma shares a candid personal story about repeatedly ignoring her own health during bouts of tonsillitis as a young adult, always pushing through sickness for the sake of work and productivity—until forced to rest on holiday.

"Listen to your body when it needs rest, or it will choose rest when it is most inconvenient for you. And oh my gosh, well, well, well, if I have not learned that lesson probably one too many times."
— Jemma Sbeg (17:20)

This experience led her to finally rest, seek medical help, and recover—illustrating the harsh consequences of ignoring bodily wisdom and the peace that comes with listening.

Practical Tips for Rebuilding Trust

[20:12]
Jemma offers clear, actionable suggestions:

• Notice Discomfort & Tension:
  Track sleep, food, and mood to uncover patterns and triggers.

• Honor Natural Rhythms:
  Learn about circadian rhythms and adapt sleep/eating/activity habits for consistency.

• Show Deep Love for Your Body:
  Engage in enjoyable movement, self-care rituals, and positive self-talk; rituals like “everything showers,” mindful skincare, or simply expressing gratitude.

• Prioritize Sleep:
  Limit screens and caffeine before bed, create comforting rituals, and reframe sleep as rejuvenation, not a chore.

• Try Mindful Practices:
  Body scans or gentle mindfulness to cultivate awareness and acceptance of physical sensation.

  "Chronic fatigue or always feeling off... that's not how you're meant to feel."
  — Jemma Sbeg (20:37)

Journal Prompts & Reflection

[27:02]
Jemma closes with deep questions to help listeners personalize the mantra and foster self-awareness:

• What experiences have shown you that your body is more capable than you once believed?
• How does your body communicate its needs to you right now, and are you listening?
• What is one signal your body has been giving you recently, and how can you respond to it with trust instead of suppression or resistance?

She also suggests taking a pause, breathing deeply, and letting the mantra guide gentle reflection.

Memorable Quotes

• “Every heartbeat, every breath is proof your body knows exactly what it’s doing.” — [27:10]
• “The body is often far more capable than our anxious mind gives it credit for.” — [10:02]
• “We might move from punishment to partnership...from pushing it past exhaustion, starving it of nourishment, criticizing it harshly, to feeding it well, resting it when it asks us to, and respecting its limits at a deeper level.” — [15:02]
• “Choose to treat your body with patience. Choose respect. Choose confidence in it. And I think that you’ll find a huge change coming about.” — [31:20]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–03:50 – Introduction, episode theme and trigger warning
• 03:51–14:54 – Discussion of health anxiety, bodily mistrust, hunger, sleep and rest
• 17:00–20:00 – Personal story (tonsillitis, learning to rest)
• 20:12–23:56 – Practical tips for building body trust
• 27:02–29:30 – Journal prompts and deep reflection
• 31:20–32:17 – Final thoughts and encouragement

Episode Takeaways

This week’s mantra—**“I trust that my body knows what it’s doing”—**invites listeners to reconsider their relationship with their body as an ally, not an adversary. Jemma Sbeg dismantles the cultural and personal narratives that breed mistrust, using science, storytelling, and soulful reflection to guide listeners toward deeper self-compassion and practical change.

Whether you struggle with health anxiety, food issues, exhaustion, or simply the pace of modern life, Jemma encourages you to honor your body’s wisdom, embrace its messages, and trust in its ability to care for you—one breath, one beat, and one gentle choice at a time.