Blog : Debbie Wyer Pilates

What I Learnt When I Started Really Listening to My Body

By Debbie Wyer on 25 July 2025

Have you ever felt as though one side of your body is tighter than the other? Perhaps one shoulder always seems to sit higher, one hip feels stiffer, or you keep getting the same aches and pains, despite stretching or exercising regularly.

It's easy to assume these things are simply part of getting older or that we just need to work a little harder.

I've learnt that our bodies are often trying to tell us something.

Sometimes, the biggest changes don't come from doing more, they come from listening more closely.

I Thought I Knew My Body…

As a Biomechanics Coach and Pilates teacher, I've always considered myself quite body aware. I understood movement, posture, and alignment, and I thought I had a good sense of how my body felt.

Then I discovered the MELT Method®, and I realised there was a whole new level of awareness I hadn't yet experienced.

Like many women, I'd collected my fair share of injuries over the years. An ankle sprain in my twenties that seemed to leave a lasting weakness, a hamstring injury, shoulder problems, recurring hip discomfort, a Caesarean section, and the physical effects of years of everyday stress.

Pilates and Biomechanics had played a huge part in helping me recover, move well, and stay strong.

But adding MELT gave me something different.

It taught me how to listen.

What Surprised Me Most

One of the unique things about MELT is that every session begins and ends with a simple body assessment.

Rather than asking, "Can I stretch further?" or "Can I work harder?", you're invited to notice how your body feels.

Where do you feel your weight? Do you feel balanced? Does one shoulder rest differently from the other?

Can you sense the contact between your feet and the floor?

At first, I was genuinely surprised by what I noticed.

During one of my early standing assessments, I realised I was placing much more weight through my left foot. My pelvis felt slightly twisted, one shoulder sat further forward than the other, and I couldn't feel any pressure through the little toes of my right foot.

These weren't things I'd consciously noticed before.

The changes didn't happen overnight.

After practising MELT consistently for around four months, I experienced a moment that I'll never forget.

During a hand treatment, I felt a gentle release through my shoulder. It wasn't forced or dramatic, it simply let go.

Then, during my standing check-in after a foot treatment, I became aware that my little toes were resting on the floor. For the first time, I felt evenly grounded through both feet.

It was such a subtle change, but it felt significant.

Nothing looked dramatically different from the outside, yet my body felt more balanced, more connected, and more supported from the ground up.

That experience reminded me that lasting change doesn't always happen in big, obvious moments.

Sometimes it develops gradually through small, consistent acts of self-care, until one day you realise your body feels different.

Small Changes That Made a Big Difference

Those moments sparked my curiosity.

The more consistently I practised MELT, the more I noticed subtle changes.

My head felt more centred.

My shoulders softened.

My neck moved more freely.

My legs felt more even.

Over time, I also noticed something else.

The ankle I'd rolled countless times over the years simply stopped giving way.

I found myself feeling more stable, more balanced, and more confident in how I moved, not because I'd become stronger, but because my body was organising itself more efficiently.

One of the biggest breakthroughs came during my Level 1 MELT training, when I finally felt the weight of my ribcage settling where it naturally belongs, around the middle of my ribcage, rather than up towards my shoulder blades.

It sounds like a small thing. To me, it felt enormous.

It was another reminder that the body is constantly adapting when we give it the right input.

Learning to Trust My Body Again

I'm still learning.

I still notice areas that need a little more attention, particularly around my pelvis and the backs of my legs.

The difference now is that I no longer see those things as problems to fix.

They're simply information.

Every MELT session gives me another opportunity to check in, notice what's changed, and support my body in a gentle, consistent way.

That shift in mindset has been just as valuable as the physical changes.

What This Could Mean for You

You don't need years of movement experience to begin listening to your body.

In fact, many of the women I work with tell me they've spent years ignoring the little signs, tightness, stiffness, recurring aches, feeling unbalanced or simply not feeling quite like themselves.

Body awareness isn't about judging what you find. It's about becoming curious.

When you understand how your body feels today, you're in a much better position to support how it moves tomorrow. Sometimes the smallest changes create the biggest breakthroughs.

Move with Confidence

One of the greatest gifts MELT has given me isn't greater flexibility or better posture. It's confidence.

Confidence that I can understand what my body is telling me.

Confidence that small, consistent acts of self-care really do make a difference.

And confidence that my body isn't working against me, it's working with me.

If you're curious about what your own body might be trying to tell you, I'd love to introduce you to the MELT Method®. You might be surprised by what you discover when you simply pause, listen, and give your body the opportunity to respond.

What I Learnt When I Started Really Listening to My Body

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