“The body and mind are inextricably connected; and the former is a physical manifestation of the latter-what we feel, what we repetitively think of and believe about ourselves-what we deserve: health, life and ease or struggle and a slow death.” ~ Amy Jalapeno
Our bodies are so good to us yet we often fail to recognize this. Our legs and arms help us to move, our hearts pump blood, and our lungs breathe in oxygen, without even the slightest conscious thought that they are doing so, and we so often take these things for granted.
In fact, if anything, instead of appreciating our body for the amazing machine that it is, we talk negatively towards it. We critique, judge, and compare our bodies against this version of the “perfect body” we have concocted based on what society has told us we “should” look like.
We compare our version of health against what we see in the magazines and on TV, only to become completely ashamed and disappointed in ourselves that we just aren’t measuring up. Many people use this criticizing of themselves as the motivating force to start a new healthy lifestyle.
They attempt to fuel their change by the hatred they feel towards themselves. They punish the unworthy and “not good enough” selves by going on diets or by forcing themselves to exercise. The underlying belief is they are not worthy, they are imperfect, or even that they are unattractive and they need to struggle and try to be something that they feel will make them more valued and accepted as a person.
But, is it possible that all this comparison and critiquing of ourselves is actually the LAST thing that is going to bring about a feeling of health and well-being in our physical form? Is the negative self talk and belief that we aren’t good enough actually the one thing that is ensuring that our bodies stay exactly that…not good enough?
“Every negative belief weakens the partnership between mind and body.” ~ Deepak Chopra
Our body is an ever-evolving process of our beliefs about it. Since we are not our bodies, but the conscious awareness that is driving it, we have the power to change our bodies by changing our beliefs.
In order to effectively work WITH our bodies to bring about a healthier us, we must first change our perspective of ourselves. The subconscious beliefs that we have formed over time about what our body is or what it is not is what feeds into every cell of our body.
If we think of the body as our pet or our child we can see how the constant criticism of our bodies can never lead to better health. If you tell a child how bad he/she is, how he/she is not good enough, needs to change in order to be like so and so, or looks terrible, what attributes do you think the child will begin to act out? The child will live up to your expectations of him/her, and also our bodies will do the same.
Yes, maybe we can hate ourselves in to changing short term. We may start a diet only to quit after a couple weeks, or we may start a workout program only to give up on that too. But the body can never truly give us the long lasting results we desire if the subconscious belief is that it is not good enough.
Our physical form will naturally go back to reinforcing whatever belief we have about it. As with all things, we must shift our perspective to acceptance and gratitude before our external reality will start to print out what our internal self believes.
So even though loving ourselves or appreciating our bodies may be the last thing we want to do when we feel like we need to change something about our bodies, it is the only thing that will bring about the changes we desire… and make them stay.
A complete acceptance, honoring and appreciating everything our body does for us will shift our energetic vibration into that of love, which is always a much healthier place for each molecule of our body to reside in. And not only will we see better results in how we look, but we also will notice changes in how we feel.
If the belief is that we are healthy and that our body is working for us in the most effective and efficient way possible, our body will begin to act out these attributes, which means less illness and sickness.
“You’ve been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ~ Louise Hay
Although we are not our bodies, they are the vessel we have been given to inhabit while we are here. The way our bodies feel and how we feel towards them plays a huge part in our overall life experience.
When we feel good about ourselves, we naturally live a better, happier and more fulfilling life. Accept yourself exactly as you are now. Appreciate your body for everything it does for you. Tell your body you love it and you honor it.
When we get in touch with our bodies and we love them, we find that we naturally want to start eating healthier more nutritious foods… not because we are punishing ourselves but because those foods make us feel nourished yet light.
We may also naturally want to exercise or look to more holistic forms of medication because we have become in tune with how we feel that we realize that these things make us feel better.
In the complete acceptance and love of who we are now and what we look like now, we find that our body becomes our friend and ally versus something we need to punish and control. It begins working FOR us, and the results we desire happen as a natural result of changing our beliefs and ideas about it.
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