By Lubomira Mlcuchova | Founder of The LIMAR Method™
You finish a meeting and realise you have been holding your breath. Your shoulders are tight, your jaw is clenched, and you have barely moved for hours. You need a break, but there is another call, another decision, another person waiting for you.
So you carry on.
For many professionals, this becomes an ordinary working day. We become good at meeting expectations and keeping everything moving. But how often do we stop to notice what keeping up is asking of us?
This question is at the heart of my work. It is also one I came to through years of working with people, my own life experiences, and a desire to give prevention more space in everyday life.
The question that stayed with me
My journey began in Slovakia, where I trained and worked as a physiotherapist. Even as a student and young practitioner, I was eager to learn new techniques and understand more about the person behind the pain.
During 25 years in conventional healthcare, I worked with people already facing pain, injury and serious illness. Helping them mattered deeply to me. But a question kept coming back: what could we do earlier?
How could we help people care for their bodies before an injury? What could we change in our daily lives to reduce the risk of chronic illness? And when it came to conditions as complex as cancer, what could prevention realistically offer?
I wasn’t looking for one explanation for every illness. I wanted to understand how we could give prevention more attention, alongside treatment when it was needed.
In 2001, I came to Cyprus, bringing my experience, curiosity and these questions with me. Building a life in another country became another part of my learning – adapting, starting again and discovering new perspectives.
My mother’s illness made my search deeply personal. It was a painful experience and a sad inspiration for the direction my work would take. It strengthened my wish to help people take an active interest in their wellbeing before a health crisis made it unavoidable.
I was particularly drawn to the emphasis on prevention in Chinese medicine: the idea of caring for health continuously, even when we feel well. That perspective encouraged me to think beyond responding to symptoms and look more closely at everyday habits, rest, movement and how we manage the demands of life.
Alongside my clinical background, I explored holistic health coaching, NLP, quantum healing, Chinese metaphysics and other approaches to personal development. These different traditions became part of my learning journey, while my clinical experience remained an important foundation. I do not see these approaches as interchangeable with medical care.
Over time, I distilled my learning and experience into The LIMAR Method™. At its heart is an invitation to pay attention to ourselves earlier, understand our patterns and make practical changes while we have the opportunity.
Why body awareness belongs in business
International business asks us to understand different people, cultures and expectations. We learn to read the room, adapt our communication and respond quickly. Yet we can become so focused on what is happening around us that we barely notice what is happening within us.
Somatic awareness means noticing your body’s sensations and responses. In everyday language, it is recognising that you are tense, tired, uncomfortable or in need of a pause – and giving that information some attention.
For women balancing professional and personal responsibilities, this can be particularly relevant. Perhaps you are the person others rely on. You organise, solve problems and remember what everyone needs. Looking capable becomes so familiar that admitting you are struggling feels uncomfortable.
You may notice your shoulders tightening whenever you open your inbox. Perhaps you leave work exhausted but find it difficult to settle in the evening. Or you repeatedly postpone a break because finishing one more task feels more important.
One question I invite people to consider is: what have you started accepting as normal simply because it happens often?
None of these experiences tells us, by itself, what is causing a symptom. But they offer a reason to pause and pay attention.
Prevention begins before we reach our limit
For me, somatic awareness is part of a preventive approach to wellbeing. We do not need to wait until we are exhausted or in pain before considering how we work and live.
In a demanding professional environment, that could mean noticing how long we sit without moving, how often we miss a proper break, or how easily work takes over the time we need to recover. For women who are used to putting everyone else first, it also means recognising that their own needs deserve attention.
The benefit is practical: the earlier we recognise an unhelpful pattern, the sooner we can begin to change it. We might adjust our working position, move more regularly, communicate a boundary or ask for support.
Body awareness cannot diagnose disease or guarantee that we will avoid illness, including cancer. It belongs alongside medical care, recommended screening and established prevention measures. Persistent, new or worsening symptoms deserve medical attention. Listening to your body includes knowing when to seek professional assessment.
Workplace wellbeing also involves workload, expectations and organisational support. Personal awareness can help us recognise and communicate what needs attention; it cannot solve every problem in the working environment.
A small practice for your working day
Before your next meeting, take a moment to ask yourself three questions.
What do I notice? Feel your feet on the floor. Notice your jaw, shoulders and breathing without trying to force anything to change.
What do I need right now? Perhaps you need to move, drink some water, eat or have a few quiet moments. You do not need to find a deep explanation for every sensation.
What is one thing I can do? Choose something realistic. Change position, step away from the screen or leave a little space before your next commitment.
The purpose is to build a habit of checking in with yourself before the day has taken all your attention.
A personal approach for every client
As a Somatic Coach and Psychosomatic Guide, I help people explore connections between their body signals, emotions and everyday patterns.
Someone may come to me feeling overwhelmed or disconnected from herself. She may know that something needs to change but have difficulty identifying where to begin.
I work with each client individually because everyone is unique. We begin with a questionnaire that helps me understand their situation, concerns and what they hope to change. Based on their answers and our conversations, I adapt the framework of The LIMAR Method™ to their needs. The pace, focus and practices reflect the person in front of me.
Together, we look at what they notice in their body, what is happening in their life and which habits, needs or boundaries deserve attention. Through conversation, body awareness and practical reflection, we work towards changes that fit their everyday life.
That might mean recognising overload sooner, expressing a need more clearly or making space for rest without waiting until everything else is finished. My role is to guide that exploration and help each person develop greater understanding and confidence in responding to their needs.
My journey from Slovakia to Cyprus has brought together many experiences, but my purpose remains simple: helping people understand themselves better and take a more active part in caring for their wellbeing.
We cannot control every aspect of our health. But we can create more opportunities to care for ourselves before we reach our limit. Success deserves to include the person working so hard to achieve it.
Your Journey to Your Inner Healer Begins with Awareness.
Lubomira Mlcuchova is a Somatic Coach, Psychosomatic Guide and founder of The LIMAR Method™.
www.lubkalimarmethod.com
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