Having spent the last 40 years assisting women in healing themselves on all levels and at all life stages, I’ve learned that our bodies are true altars—the most sacred places in our lives.
Without flourishingly healthy bodies, nothing else matters. Yet, many women take their bodies for granted—especially during times of stress and uncertainty.
While paying loving attention to your body may sound silly, selfish, or self-absorbed, then consider this: Your body needs regular doses of comfort and pleasure to be optimally healthy. Without it, you are much more likely to seek pleasure from external and unsustainable sources and behaviors, including drugs, alcohol, and sugar.
So for my last blog of this year I want to give you the permission to deliberately pay loving attention to your body. And if permission is not enough, think of this as a prescription to “listen to and respect your body more than you have ever done before.”
My Tips for Honoring Your Body Now and For Life
Here are my tips for honoring your body. You can use these any time, in any order or simply pick one or two that resonate with you. I suggest you find time every day and make honoring your body a ritual as you do other health-enhancing practices.
- Love your body all the time. Your body is where your soul lives. It is truly a temple. So, whether you feel too weak, too fat, or too tired, or you dislike some other feature you simply love your body. You can say an affirmation such as “I love my body in its current state even with its perceived flaws. I beautify and worship my body-temple when I care for and love myself.” Acts of love toward your body can be as simple as flossing your teeth, exercising and stretching, eating slowly and sensually, and breathing fully.
- Do things that comfort you. It’s ok to want to improve your body, whether you are seeking to be stronger, lose weight, improve your skin tone, or whatever your goals. But you must also remember that honoring your body is about giving it what it truly needs. Take a nap if you are tired. Relax with a cup of tea. Go for a walk in the fresh air. When your body feels nourished and comforted, you are more likely to achieve the goals you are seeking.
- Bring pleasure into your life. We are hard-wired for pleasure. And taking time for pleasure decreases the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Try to take time to experience something pleasurable every day. This can be anything that feels good to you. It may be something as simple as enjoying a meal with loved ones and allowing ample time for digestion the way the French and Italians do. (When food is savored and enjoyed not gulped down at our desks or eaten on the run it’s metabolized differently.) Commit to a minimum of fifteen minutes of true enjoyment every day. Not only will you feel better, but you’ll be also able to approach arduous tasks with more energy and a better outlook.
- Honor your emotions. We cannot heal negative emotions with our minds. We must acknowledge and fully feel our emotions, including the difficult ones such as sorrow, grief, and anger. It’s much healthier to feel these fully and much healthier for your body-temple that reaching for a glass of wine, a cookie, or a pill, or to criticize yourself for having negative emotions. When we honor our feelings, we are practicing compassion.
- Ask for help. Everyone needs help and support. My friend told me how her husband recently attempted to carry their Christmas tree inside by himself. Even though she offered to help him, he went ahead and put the 10-foot tree over his shoulder, climbed the small hill on their front lawn, tripped and fell flat out on the walkway. Aside from a few minor scrapes, he was ok. But he certainly could have been injured. And asking for help is about putting yourself first. When you do, you give others the gift of being of service to you.
- Invoke the Divine. We are Divine beings living in physical form. This means the perfect solution for ALL of our problems and all of our requests has already been chosen. When we simply relax into being guided to the right action, everything falls into place easily. This approach is far less stressful than trying to make things happen all of the time. You can also use Divine Love petitions to help.
- Breathe fully. Breathing fully in through your nose and out through your mouth is a great way to reset your body, mind and spirit. Physically, breathing properly balances your nervous system and effectively calms any excess stress.
- Smile at yourself in the mirror. This may sound difficult at first, especially if you are used to looking in the mirror critically and “fixing” the things you don’t like. Instead, take a moment to smile and imagine your smile being directed into every cell in your body. Then close your eyes and send well-being and acceptance to all of your body parts, one by one. Do this once per day.
- Enjoy nature. I enjoy being outside and regularly walk barefoot on the Earth. This practice—known as Grounding—does wonders for our bodies due to the Earth’s healing electromagnetic field. This for me is connecting to true Source. I regularly commune with all of the elements—the wind, fire, water, and earth. I commune with trees, flowers, plants, and animals, and they commune with me.
- Expect magic. Try greeting each new day with the anticipation of a young child. Remember what it feels like to be eager to see what wonders await you!
You can use these tips to create affirmations or try meditating on one or several of these as needed. You can even write them in your journal and update your progress.
When you spend time every day worshiping the temple of your soul your body will reward you many fold.
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