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This can be a hard concept to embrace- especially when so much of what we share at I Love my Beautiful Body blog has to do with all the ways we identify with our bodies.
Just for today, remember you are more than your body. Just for today, slip out of a limited one track body-vision, and into a larger picture of yourself. One that embodies all the light your spirit naturally radiates.
Just for today, remember all the things in life you are grateful for. Start with your home, friends, family, talents and abilities. Perhaps allow the 'physical list' of things you are grateful for- to come after you have found at least ten or twenty other things in life to be grateful for.
Flip the script on "I am grateful for my round hips" for "I am grateful for my strong hip bones and healthy joints". Turn "I am grateful for my flat stomach" into "I am grateful for my body's ability to digest my food, emotions, and life experiences healthily."
One of mine for today is; "I am grateful for my healthy breasts". You can say "I am grateful for my healthy testicles" if you are living in a man's body.
A male pal hid from his friends for years due to testicular cancer. He fought it alone instead of including us because he was afraid we would judge or ridicule him. He had a hard time admitting what was going on to himself and others at the time. Years later- on the other side of his illness, he is grateful for his healthy body- now more than ever!
One day I was down on my body, especially my breasts. I told them how much I hated them for having stretch marks, and shrinking from a C to a B cup after much weight gain and loss over the years. After beating my body up all morning, I went to teach a yoga class. There I met the most lovely woman who was smiling, radiating a beauty from within herself that was so potent it stopped me in my tracks. She only had one breast and had recently gone through surgery for a mastectomy. After spending that first class in her presence, I was humbled by her sweet grace and powerful ability to rock her cute yoga top, her whole body- and her whole spirit with one boob. A different body than other women in class, she did not try to hide her one boob, nor did I feel like she was down on herself. Instead it seemed she had found a place beyond her body.. a place that allows her to love her body even more... and it shows.
After class I used the restroom and in a private moment, held my breasts and told them how grateful I am that they are healthy. I said a prayer to energetically erase all the hurtful emotions and words I blasted them with earlier.
Just for today, remember you are more than your body.
Remember you are you are more than your body.
You are more than your body.
About a year ago, I realized my weight was running my life. I'd wake up and weigh myself right away. I'd have a morning BM and weigh myself afterwards. Following this, I'd go to the gym and weigh myself there before working out, and then again after working out. And because I was never sure if the scale at the gym was accurate, I'd weigh myself again upon returning home. The whole cycle would continue the following day. I was rarely happy with my body, and was constantly judging it by how much it weighed. If the number was higher than my 'norm', I would begin feeling heavy- even if it was only two-three pounds. If I appeared to have lost a couple of pounds, I was over the moon, and would literally feel lighter.
Consider the following questions and see if you can answer them honestly.
Are you obsessed with your weight?
Do you have one, or more weighing scales in your house, and do you use them both daily?
Do you get depressed when you've gained a couple pounds, and happy when you've lost a few?
Does your weight govern how you see yourself and your body?
Even if you wake up feeling positive about your body image, can the number on the scale change the way you perceive your body?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then perhaps you can consider taking a break from the scales. I know, I know- it's a crazy idea, especially if you are hooked. But some addictions are good to break. Let me give you a bit of my back story. One year ago I started to take my body seriously. I began working out with a trainer and during the winter of 2012, I completed a fast of almost forty days. It was the third winter-time fast in a row of dramatic fasting I did. See my blog Confessions of a Spiritual Apprentice http://confessionsofaspiritualapprentice.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html
Yes, I lost tons of weight, but I also lost a lot of muscle, muscle-tone and physical strength. I had laid off of working out with my trainer because I had no energy. At forty years old, my skin was sagging and loose fitting. With so much weight loss, yes- my clothes did fit better on my body. But when I took them off, I hated my weak and lifeless form.
I struggled with this for many months. I slowly gained weight back and my addiction to 'checking in' with the scales began. I knew my daily diet would surely cause me to gain weight back. I got into working with my trainer again, and watched what I was eating. I decided tightening my skin, and building muscle tone would be my focus. The more I worked out, the more I became impatient about seeing physical results. My body didn't seem to be changing soon enough for me, so I relied on the weighing scale to tell me how to feel.
Over many months, I started to see results. My shape started finding a new form. I was finally seeing muscle tone and feeling stronger in new ways. I would weigh myself in hopes of weighing less. Some days I would drop a couple pounds- but some days my weight wouldn't budge at all. I have now realized a few things:
1) Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are loosing fat and building muscle, you may not see a significant shift in your weight.
2) You can add up to three pounds over night- to your normal, or comfortable weight by eating a heavily salted meal. A lot of salt causes the body to hold more water, which equals more weight.
3) If I ate a large- (even healthy) meal, I would weigh more directly afterwards.
4) I would always weigh less after a health BM (bowel movement)
Your body weight fluctuates all the time. get used to it and put the scale away. If your mission is to purposely loose a lot of weight, please do so safely.. and then maybe put the scale away if you can.
After doing my internal work of re-patterning how I think about my body, and changing negative thoughts to positive ones. I stopped trying to loose more and more weight- and started to tighten and tone my body from where my body was naturally. I love to eat and my boyfriend is a cook, so there is no getting around starving myself. Besides, I want to enjoy a good quality of life with good food as a regular way of life. Don't you?
Okay, heres the deal.. Rather than looking at your body, or weighing it to decide on how to feel about it- decide to pay more attention to how you feel in your clothing. You may be shaping up beautifully, but missing the boat if your eyes are glued to the numbers on the scale. You may have lost inches from all of the hard work you are doing, but if you don't take time to acknowledge it, you will be stuck relying on the numbers game. You are wearing a Beautiful Body- right now! Chances are, If you've been watching what you eat and working out... you have indeed shape shifted your form. So give yourself permission to embrace your body, applaud your discipline and be grateful for the body you have. I know, sometimes we get off track and this can be a great excuse to be hard on ourselves. Do not let this ruin all the work you have done to this point. Pat yourself on the back, dust yourself off and get back into dance, cardio, bodysculpt- or boxing class!
If your ok with not loosing a bunch of weight, but are interested in loosing inches... I highly recommend taking up yoga- besides creating a sleeker form, it will increase the balance and harmony of your mind/body/spirit. The more you do- the longer and leaner your body will become. 'Yoga strong' is a whole different type of physical strong that focuses on creating longer muscles by using your own body weight to play from. Here is one of my yoga videos below- watch and see if it is something you would enjoy. In closing, if you are indeed addicted to the scales, try- jut for one day, one week, one month, putting it out of sight. Tell your Beautiful Body how much you appreciate it and exhale deeply into letting go of your weight. Let it fluctuate- maybe a little, maybe a lot.. you are human after all.
