How many of us look in the mirror everyday and wish we could change something about our physical selves? Oh my nose is crooked, or my thighs are too big, etc.. It's normal to feel the pressure from yourself and society to look a certain way on the outside. Part of what drew me to yoga in the first place was the things it did for my outward appearance. How would it change your ideas of self-care if you began to look at your physical body as a vessel for the divine? Whatever the divine is for you of course. How would it change things for you if you started thinking of your physical welness and spritual wellness as interconnected?
I had the amazing opportunity last week to attend an anatomy class at a Cadaver Lab. The thing that became obvious to me is that for the most part we all have the same muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, etc... The way these things function may be different for some of us. But we're all composed of basically the same things. Our bodies are built to function like machines. There is a give and take for everything. Everything is balanced. Then for some of us after years of abuse functions within our bodies move out of balance. We wonder why we can't eat certain things without feeling bad afterwards. Or we wonder why we aren't as flexible as we used to be, or can't run as fast as we once did, etc...
This made me examine some of my habits. This made me think about perfecting my body from the inside out in order to feel well. And when I feel well I can then begin to focus on using my body, my vessell, for a greater purpose. The message I'm taking away is to worry less about perfecting my body on the outside, but to perfect my body from the inside out. Bringing awareness to the things my body needs. I want to make decisions for my body that are based on overall wellness and balance as opposed to giving in to cravings, lustfulness, and addictions. Things can be as simple as bringing awareness to the fact that that extra cup of coffee is going to give you a stomach ache. I'm not talking about knowing everything there is to know about the human body and its systems. I'm talking about listening to your body and becoming aware of what you really need. Easier said than done though!
To me the key to this concept of wellness is moderation. If I spend all my time focusing inward I will easily miss important things outside of me. If I tell myself NO all the time, I will beat myself up for every moment of weakness. I just want to figure out a way for my physical body to feel well and function well, so I may focus attention on my mental and spritual well being as well. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that I can really focus on one thing at a time...it's all connected.
There's an old fable of an astronomer who would wander around the town each night studying the skies. One night while he was staring up at the heavens he fell into a deep well. The neighbor who finally heard his cries said "Why probe the skies when you can't even see what's here on earth?"
I feel like you need to find a way to ground yourself in your physical well being in order to be able to see what else is out there!
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