100 Ways to Love Your Body

Along the path of a healthier, happier, more interesting me, I am focusing this piece on loving my body and supporting others in loving theirs.  Here's a short list to help you get started. 

·         Listen to your body

We tend to get so busy moving through the day, we neglect our bodies.  We drink stimulants to wake or perk up, then depressants to wind down.  When we have body aches we take a pill to keep going, ignoring the need for rest and recuperation. As we listen and attend the voice of our bodies, our natural instincts will awaken and we will have the choice to honor ourselves more lovingly.

·         Appreciate your body

Take a moment to honor all that your body does – the power to transport “you” from here to there and back again.  Look in the mirror and touch all those lovely parts and places.  Even if you feel the need to change some aspect of your physical self, that change comes after acceptance of all that is, and the vision of what can be.  Massage love into the all of how you show up today. 

·         Positive Body Talk

Smile and greet your reflection with an affirmative and loving voice.  Offer your body words of joy and wonder rather than the popular tones of doubt and self-denigration.  Look longingly at the gift you have received and co-created and know that it is good. 

·         Feed your body healthy foods

The practice of temperance allows for the infusion of the bounty that nature offers.  Be thoughtful about what and how much you ingest.  Let choices, rather than denial, govern your decisions.  Know that what you put in feeds the all of you – mind, body and spirit. 

·         Move your body

We know that things left to sit become less flexible.  Energize the all of you with thoughtful movement – dance, play, walking, stretching, reaching, lifting, opening and expanding. Find what delights your body and do that.  Notice the sensations that awaken and honor those.  Free your mind from the fear of discomfort and cross your boundaries. 

·         Feed your body from the inside out

Our skin functions as protection, sensation, absorption, and storage and synthesis, among other duties.  As such, it deserves the very best we can offer.  Coating the skin with nutrient poor substances that clog and block the pores and cells defeats health at a basic level.  Imagine only applying to the outside what you would offer to the inside.  Using oils, lotions, balms and butters made from cold-pressed oils and eatable ingredients will support a healthy glow as well as internal nourishment.

·         Give your body sensuous touch

Get a massage.  Soak in a bath.  Linger in the shower.  Use your hands to apply soap, lotions and oils, lingering over sensitive areas and allowing gentle response time.  Learn how and what touch you appreciate.  When the time comes, you can share that information as an expert.

·         Cover your body in luxurious clothing

Dress your skin in luxury, whatever you deem that to be.  Be creative.  Find cottons, silks, linens, wools, or sky.  Drink in the joy of what touches your skin.

·         Breathe deeply

            Learn to exhale.  The inhale will take care of itself.

      Exhale with the intention of letting go.  Inhale drawing both breath and blessing into your body.  Exhale the expended, useless, toxins ready to be released.  Inhale the joy of life, for life is in the breath.  Fill the lungs.  Hold for a beat or two, and then let it all go.  Let the exhale be twice the length of your inhale.  Drop the shoulder and feel the difference.

·         Relax more

Find the moments that delight you and bring more of them into your life.  As you stand, sit or lie down, feel the support of the foundation beneath you and know you are fully supported – by the earth, the chair, or the bed/floor.  Allow your body to rest upon the platform that holds you and fully be there.  Be present.

·         Sleep longer, deeper, more peacefully

How can you live more lovingly in the only body you have?  What will have to shift for you to honor the vehicle that transports you through the day, and your life?  How does your perception shift as you reach for love and commit to giving that love to yourself?  Here's another opportunity to expand self-discovery and find a whole new world.

Let the Love Light in!

Namaste