Body Basics

Imagine you are in a relationship with someone who is supportive, nurturing, beautiful, brilliant, and always gives you advice and guidance with your best interest at heart.

Now imagine that you typically ignore this person’s advice, don’t respond when they tell you what they need, talk badly about them (to their face and behind their back), push them beyond what they’re comfortable with and shame them if they can’t keep up.

“I would never treat anyone like that”, I can hear most of you saying (and thank goodness!). Yet, in one of the most important, and certainly longest-running, relationships we will ever have, we do it all the time. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about our relationship with our body.

Ignoring, mistreating, and dismissing our bodies is commonplace in this culture. We’ve been taught that it’s the enemy. Something to be “whipped into shape”. Or something we don’t pay attention to until there is a problem, an injury or illness, and then we may blame and shame it. Little wonder many of our bodies are in revolt.

Our bodies are brilliant, always work to bring themselves back to balance and health and telling us what they need.  And being able to tune in to that wisdom and work with them rather than against them is key to our wellness – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Today, I invite you to think about what your body might say about what kind of ‘partner’ you are. And where you can learn to treat it with more love, gratitude, and kindness.