The end of the war on your body

New Year’s resolutions usually center on some fault we have with our bodies. I honestly never really got the trend, I was more into punishing my body all year long. I’ve done marathons that my heart wasn’t into. I’ve done fasting, keto, low-carb/high-fat. I was a vegetarian for 25 years and drank apple cider vinegar till I could gag.

I’m going to venture to guess you’re a lot like me. You’ve tried a lot of things and no system seems to stick.

In addition to the punishment we dole out on our bodies in the form of rigid resolutions, then we judge ourselves. I know I’ve been relentless and so unkind to my belly, my thighs, and my skin. Why can’t it all just cooperate?

From a neuroplastic perspective, all the judgment creates more inflammation in the body. And there we are, on a very unhappy hamster wheel.

I’d like to introduce a different way. It’s so deceptively simple. But first, you need to embrace one simple, radical concept. There's you that’s your mind. Then there's you that's your body. The body has its own intelligence independent and simultaneously interdependent of the mind.

Has your mind ever given you the idea to eat something, or wear something, or be intimate with someone - but then there was a pause. It may have felt a nano-second in which you got a ping to not do it? Instead, your “rational” mind won the internal argument. You ate the thing, you wore the outfit, you slept with the person, and then you got indigestion – blisters on your feet – regretted the night? Yah, I know, me too.

That ping was your body waving the flag for you to reconsider that choice. And here’s the best part, you don’t have to wait for a ping! You can simply ASK your body what it wants. You’ll receive a subtle interior answer. Be open to how your body will respond. Understanding these subtle answers to your questions will take some practice, but it’s totally doable and oh so worth it.

So, how about you, can you give this a whirl? Would it help if I told you I lost 30 lbs just by listening to my body? No diet, no deprivation of any kind. Let me know if you need support, I’m just an email reply away. If you’re a reader and want to dive into this subject at length, the box below has a couple of wonderful books on the subject for you.

Next week I’ll introduce another idea about the body that brings all of this together. Till then, enjoy the holiday season!