Be Kind

I have not been kind to my body. I suspect I’m not alone with most of you reading this blog post right now.

It’s easy to justify our own actions because they mainly influence us. But if it’s something we wouldn’t do for or to a loved one, why are we excluded from that? Why do we excuse our unkind behavior?

What do I mean by I haven’t been kind to my body?

I’ve let tension rule in my muscles without thinking about the cumulative pain that has built up. I’ve not prioritized enough ways to release and heal that pain.

I’ve indulged in ways with food that have made me feel sick after.

I’ve had seasons of emotional eating.

I’ve neglected my soul care in ways that affected the chemical balance in my brain.

I’ve let circumstances dictate how I prioritize a healthy life style.

Do you relate to any of these? Or maybe you can relate to some of these…

You may have practiced extreme exercise in ways that aren’t healthy for your body.

You may not move at all living a sedentary life.

You have restricted food in unhealthy ways not nourishing your body.

You may have only focused on losing weight and looking good. That’s a good goal right? But really just losing weight and looking good is not enough to bring peace in our emotional journey with food.

You may have continually talked to yourself in ways that would appall your mother if she heard you talking to someone else like that!

The list can go on…

We hear a lot about self-care, self-love. And I think sometimes people cringe because self is equated with selfishness.

Maybe those aren’t the best words, so what I’ll say is I’m telling myself to be kind to myself. To think about how I would be if this was someone else’s body, someone else’s life.

It’s easy sometimes to look at someone and see obvious ways they may be mistreating their bodies. It’s so hard to look in the mirror or deep within that mirror to see how our choices are influencing our bodies health and well-being.

I want to be a being that is well in all spheres of life. Not just spiritually, not just emotionally not just physically.

I’m learning lately that the phsyical, doesn’t mean just eating healthy and moving, it means stress reduction, calming the activity of my mind, prioritizing sleep, reducing pain and inflammation in my body, prioritizing time with friends and family.

I’m a work in progress, always! So I’m finding ways to be kind to my body at this part of my journey.

We are all on different parts of the journey.

So in what ways do you need to start being kind to your body?