My Body: Love it or Lean it?

OMG…I just looked at a picture I took in January.  It was a bikini-clad “Before” picture…as in “before” I started exercising again (and after I spent the fall eating baked potatoes and french fries - yikes).

One day soon I’ll be brave enough to post it on this site (stay tuned).

I’m always torn about how to approach body image issues.  The feminist in me firmly believes that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.  While my inner supermodel wants to starve away all the cellulite.

Where do we draw the line between loving & accepting our bodies, and striving to meet our own standards of beauty?

Here’s what I’ve concluded for myself:  I know what I look like when I’m healthy, and I know what I look like when I’m unhealthy.  My appearance is a sign of my inner health.  So when I focus on health instead of beauty, I get BOTH.

True, the ripples in my thighs prompted me to think, “I’m not going to the beach looking like that.”  I’m still human, with all the ego and vanity that comes with it.

But when I look at my body as a problem to be solved, it doesn’t feel loving.  I end up eating better, but feeling deprived.  I may even exercise, but it feels like punishment.

Instead, I choose to love and accept my body.  I don’t argue with myself or put myself down for how my body looks.  I am not my body.  And besides, being past 40, this body will not look 20 no matter how hard I try.  It will fade away altogether, eventually.

From a place of love and acceptance, I can then ask myself, “So, what do you want to do about it?”  Everything I do or don’t do after that, is a CHOICE.  Not a punishment.  Not deprivation.  I’m loving my body into what I’d like it to be.

Beyond that, I listen to what my body’s telling me about my level of inner health.

When I drink fresh juices, do just a little yoga and weight training, and include a salad a day into my lifestyle - I look gorgeous!  My skin is clear, my face is slim, and my thighs have fewer ripples.  I LOOK like health, when I’m healthy.

When I eat mostly starches and fried foods, my body falls apart on the outside to let me know it’s falling apart on the inside.  I know it’s true because this is also the food that creates phlegm in my throat, lethargy, and sinus infections.

I love the real me so much - my spirit - that I want a body that can keep up.  I want a body that is light and toned, not to look good on the beach (though I like that perk), but so that I have energy and longevity to do all that I came here to do.

If you want to join me as we love our bodies from the inside out, here are a few tips:

1. Start with love. Look at your body in the mirror or in a picture.  Celebrate your natural gifts.  Be mindful that your body is a vehicle, a tool.  YOU ARE NOT YOUR BODY.  It simply carries you around from place to place.  It supports you in doing what you came here to do.  What did you come here to do?  How is your body helping or hindering you?
2. Tune in and listen. What is your outer body telling you about your inner body?  Is your skin blotchy because it’s trying to rid your body of toxins?  Is it dry because you’re dehydrated?  Is it saggy because you’re not exercising enough?  You may not understand the messages your body’s sending right away.  But once you decide to tune in, over time, you’ll become clear on how to interpret its signs.
3. Proceed with love. As you come to understand what your body wants and needs in order to support you in being all you came here to be, lovingly begin to give it what it wants.  Drink a little more water each day.  Touch your toes or do some sun salutations for just 10 minutes a day.  Replace one soda with a bottle of water, or one bag of chips with a piece of fruit.  Do these things as a way to celebrate your body and improve your health on the inside - not as a way to punish yourself, or live up to an external standard of beauty.

Let your love of your REAL self, shine through in your love of your PHYSICAL self.  Take care of the body that you’d like to carry you around for another 40 to 80 years (I, personally, expect to live to age 120).

Outer appearance is merely a reflection of inner health.  Focusing on health, instead of “beauty” will ultimately grant you both.

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