Musings: Do you feel connected to your body?
“Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul.” Wayne Dyer
Musings: Do you feel connected to your body? … in what way?
One of the great joys of blogging is that we make connections with other bloggers and visitors and learn news things; a comment, a blog post, an insight and voila! new vistas open for us. I followed a comment made by blogger creatingreciprocity and found a wonderful post on her blog; Joy Gives Us Wings. She had an uplifting video that led me to SoulPancake.com which is a funny and smart site that offers pithy questions for us to answer. I will cover a few over the next several days. Check out the site.
Now to the question. Yes, I am fully aware of my body and all of its aches, pains, strengths and joys. I am connected to it both in a spiritual and human way; I know when it needs food, water and loving attention, and I treat it like a well oiled machine… sometimes it balks and sometimes it celebrates, but it is mine… a spirit in a human form. What about you? More below 😉
“If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred” Walt Whitman
Musings: Do you feel connected to your body? … who do you see looking at you?
Perhaps, because I’ve been an athlete and a dancer, I am keenly aware of my body and of its limitations. At different points in my life, for instance due to injury or surgery, I have had to make enormous adjustments to accommodate the changing needs of my body. Yet, I am aware that some of us have other issues around our bodies. For example, people with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or body dysmorphic disorder have a different perception about their bodies and while they might imagine it as unattractive or inadequate, they put their bodies through tremendous challenges and denials believing they are making it better. Some might argue that it is a form of disconnection to the body and its needs. What do you think? More below. 😉
“The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends” Anon
Musings: Do you feel connected to your body? … what do you believe about your body?
Recently, I started a fairly rigorous exercise regimen, upped the ante as some would say, and I feel every bit of that power walk, spinning class, zumba dance, and that gyrokinesis session. I do it to stay healthy and I love exercise, yet I had a good chuckle about the quote above because it is so true… In my 20s, I didn’t even think about my weight and everything worked in a rational way. The force of gravity kicked in as time went by and, as many of us know, it takes more work now for the same results. However, as the quote rightly suggests, as we age, we also make peace with much of the physical changes; we fight some, we treat some, and we ignore other shifts in our bodies…
What becomes important is self care, well being, and maintaining a healthy bone structure. I wish all women would see that as the goal for their bodies; especially our young women who abuse their bodies for all sorts of reasons. Feeling connected to our bodies isn’t enough, we must respect it too. Do you feel connected, in a healthy way, to yours? What are your thoughts? How do you see your body? Have you thought about what it feels like to be in another person’s body? Do you like your body? What do you do to keep it sacred? Do share! Thank you. 😉
This post was inspired by a prompt from SoulPancake: Do you feel connected to your body?
For More: Women’s Lives & Issues
Positive Motivation Tip: Honor and love the body you have and treat it as sacred… it is the only one carrying you through this lifetime.
More Wellness Boosters/Affirmations & Resources
Related articles
- What I’m Diggin’ (soulpancake.com) (creativeaddictionblog.com)
- Soul pancake (justwritewhite.wordpress.com)
- Why can’t I like my body? (ask.metafilter.com)
- Fitness is Not a Number (chaoticmusing.wordpress.com)
- Musings: Play Like No One Is Watching… (eof737.wordpress.com)
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos body dysmorphic disorder via Wikipedia. Or bodies connected by NeverLeaveLondon, body image by Suzy Forcella via Flickr
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
There is a lot here, Elizabeth. I I’ve had years and years of body image hurdles, including Bulimic teenage years. But I started a serious and dedicated yoga practice about five years ago and I really connected to my body for the first time! I slowly began to be grateful for how well my body works…that in itself makes me want to make sure that I’m doing all I can to take care of myself. And I have followed Soul Pancake for awhile, now. It is fun, isn’t it? Debra
What an interesting post! I love the first quote about being a soul with a body! That alone can change your perspective.
As for the other quote, it’s funny but I believed it’s truth so much at one time that used it as an excuse and lacked motivation to lose weight. Now, 30 pounds lighter, I understand that I can still have success losing weight and getting healthy.
It is still a life long commitment to treat our bodies with respect. I hope I’m able to stick to it!
you’ve been an athlete and a dancer, me? long distance swimmer (some lakes, river Rhine, Mediterranean Sea …
I taught thousands of kids how to swim, play hockey or basketball – so I enjoyed to introduce a photo of a female native Indian basketball team in Mexico: to know to have a body, can mean so much joy …
Sometimes the body/spirit connection comes from coming to terms with an illness you weren’t expecting. That will truly give you perspective.
I do feel a lot more connected with my body now than I did when I was younger. And I definitely take a lot better care of it now than I did before. I am also very grateful that I have a healthy and funtional body, because I know that not everyone has that.
I love the first quote here by the way, so true! Thank you for a wonderful post Eliz! 🙂
Yup. I like and appreciate my body. It rocks! 😀
Hmmm, I just wrote something about that, think I posted it yesterday.
I hear you — it takes much more energy to shift things around and get the results I used to get even 10 years ago. I’m not liking this one bit and you can bet I’m kicking and screaming all the way, but all in good fun. We do have a lot of control, more than we think so I’m working on taking charge of it, exercising more, eating properly, getting enough sleep, listening more to the gentle nudges it gives. Being home now, I realize how out of control the last few years had become. Part of growing up is taking responsibility and that includes taking good care of my body.
Love dancing, great way to stay in shape. Walking works too.
Great topic! I’m regularly floored by how easily I can live in my mind and flat-out ignore my body. But I’m getting better. I’m lucky to have a very healthy specimen that’s quite patient with me, but I’m doing more and more work to reconnect with my body on all levels. Thanks for the reminder – off to get a drink of water! 🙂
Seeing your post today reminded me to take my daily walk to keep all my parts functioning as a team. Thanks also for the link to Soul Pancake — all good questions over there. 😀
I don’t know the connection, probably because I don’t have a mind…or a real body. I will be on this earth long after all the people are gone because I’m made of non-biodegradable substances.
Yoga has been a good addition for my body. I think running would be a great activity but I am far to lazy for it. 🙁
Very enjoyable read….
My connection seems to centered around my time and capacity for exercise. I love the ability to engage in physical activity but don’t always have the energy with my minis…so sometimes, I try to make every day activities into something that resembles exercise which keeps me aware of that connection. Your new routine sounds awesome! Hope it’s giving you what you are looking for on many levels!
Do you feel connected, in a healthy way, to yours? I wish I could say I did, but I don’t. I guess with the holidays upon us I eat more and exercise less. I hope to make it my goal to exercise more next year. Since moving all of my possessions three times this year feels like enough for me.
What are your thoughts? I feel as we get older we want to connect more, with ourselves, our minds, body’s, souls, and family and friendships. It’s crazy when we are younger and those things just are not that important. I see this in my teenager now.
In my 20s, I never cared about how I treated my body or what I put into it although i was always aware of when something wasn’t quite right. Some people, like Dapper G, is not aware of messages his body is sending him, so I have to be his ears and eyes for that. Some weight gain and high cholesterol forced me to join boot camp and zumba and now I find that I am stronger than ever. Healthy body and healthy mind–that’s my goal.
Love the part about :The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends” Anon
This is so true for me. I keep exercising and eating right and gaining weight. I have nicknamed this phenomena “Menopause 15”. I’m gonna keep at it, though. I shudder to think what would happen if I stopped doing the good things for my body.
Leanne,
You and me both… it’s a freaking nightmare. Like you, I’m keeping at it too but I keep telling my GP that it makes no sense; I eat less, rigorously exercise more, and he says, “You need to eat more to trigger the metabolism and have it catch up with the minimum 3 hours of exercise you do.” 😉 TY dear one! By the way, I’m not getting full internet access but will catch up on everyone’s blog posts by weekend… Promise!
AMEN. I lift free weights to keep my bones strong. I’m stronger than ever, but still have that post meno body fat.
I am learning to love my body again…but I need to learn to be a better listener, especially when it comes to needing rest. Currently I am trying to recover from going all out and not taking the time to take care of me…great post.
I really enjoyed this, Elizabeth. It was very timely for me. 🙂
“as many of us know, it takes more work now for the same results. However, as the quote rightly suggests, as we age, we also make peace with much of the physical changes; we fight some, we treat some, and we ignore other shifts in our bodies” – sadly, yes.
Timely for me too. I need to lose 10 kilograms I put on while fighting for my husband’s live. I’m battling to get any shift at all.
I can’t honestly say I’m at peace with my body but it’s settled down into loving spats vs. all out war. Accepting the changes age brings are frustrating, but when I look back at how I disrespected it all those years I shouldn’t have I back off.
Good post!
b
Good post!
A few years ago before I began the practice of stopping and really seeing myself in the mirror, I mostly just acknowledged my reflection and saw little. When I tried to intentionally look, it was uncomfortable as first, but got better. Standing and really “seeing” one’s self can be very enlighteneing… at least it was for me.