Peace is Love & Acceptance of our Bodies

We all struggle with body image challenges in light of today’s media propaganda to be “thin” and remain “young” forever. This isn’t possible as we are all aging and have different body frames.  Additionally, this is unrealistic since every body is different and feels best at a specific weight that is personal to the individual.

Author Geneen Roth of Women, Food, and God, talks about our need to relinquish “dieting” and turn toward mindfulness with our food. When we practice her 8 guidelines for eating, we find that peace, love, and self acceptance increase while our appetites and self-loathing diminish. Instead we learn the many reasons for our hunger and practice filling those needs in more appropriate ways; without mindless eating.

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world without deprivation? How about radical self-acceptance of our bodies? I for one, am tired of rejecting myself in hopes of motivating changes in behavior. This has never worked for me, never brought me peace or increased my self-esteem and yet I still find myself doing it. Why? Because I have been conditioned to think of myself as “unacceptable” due to my weight. For everyone out there who can relate, I proudly declare that “I LOVE AND ACCEPT MYSELF, AS IS”. I encourage all my readers to affirm this statement as well and or write your own affirmation of truth and say it DAILY in order to combat this negative conditioning.

Truth: We are all okay. We are enough.  We are beautiful. Loving ourselves will bring forth greater health and body acceptance.  Love equals peace and ends the war.

Join me in saying NO to dieting. Join me in becoming mindful to all the ways we hunger for our needs to be met. Join me appreciating the wonderful, magical, and sacred temple our body really is and STOP punishing yourself with food, starvation diets, disparaging language, negative thinking, and critical or judgmental actions. I look forward to hearing from YOU and your journey of body self-acceptance.

Release and Let Go!

Sometimes we forget to breathe. I have become increasingly aware of this in  myself lately. Why? Perhaps we’re carrying tension from the anxiety of others or within ourselves from a lack of forgiveness or acceptance. Pent up negative emotions take the breathe of life away from us only allowing a fraction of what is truly needed to embrace the fullness of life. Yet, we can take our power back through mind body practices like yoga or Tai Chi and defy that which takes our breath away by breathing deeply regardless of how we feel or think.

This weekend I learned of such an amazing practice called Sign Chi Do; The Art of Moving Prayer. Utilizing American Sign Language, prayer, and some Tai Chi basics, this practice helps to facilitate deep breathing, increased focus, centering, and a release of emotions. It helps the student come into the present moment with ease and grace while moving the body gracefully and purposefully. The various prayerful routines invoke deep feelings that otherwise lay quietly beneath the surface. While practicing this intimate routine with others for about two hours, I felt an incredible release of emotions thru my tears early on that grew into peace, joy, and serenity. Afterwards, I was fully aligned in mind, body, and Spirit. It is something one must truly, experience for themselves as words cannot adequately do justice.

Go to the website, http://www.signchido.com/ , and get the special book and DVD offer with Healthy, Happy, Holy routine and music for just $19.95. I am ordering mine this week and look forward to adding this to my daily Spiritual practices. I am not an instructor or paid for my testimony, nor do I have anything to gain. I merely feel called to spread the word about this sacred practice that I shall enjoy for the rest of my life. This really will help you to release and let go of whatever may be blocking your energy, enthusiasm, or passion for life. What have you got to lose?

Purify Your Habits!

Along with detoxifying our body temple by eating pure food and drinks, we  need to purify our habits so they support our new way of living. This includes being mindful of our thoughts, feelings, and life choices.

Cultivating personal awareness of the motives behind our actions go a long  way to re-balancing more than our diet. Practicing radical self-care through  life-affirming habits like yoga and massage, along with time for inner  reflection and self-acceptance, impact our physiology as well as  psychology. One impacts the other in creating an acidic or alkaline environment within the body regardless of our best nutritional choices.

Struggling over finances, challenges at work, or difficult relationships increase stress reactions that poison the body from the inside out. Over time, chronic stress takes its tole diminishing our capacity to metabolize food normally, think rationally, sleep, and manage our emotions effectively. According to Dr. Theordore A. Baroody of the book Alkalize or Die, “any stressor that the mind or body interprets and internalizes as too much to deal with, leaves an acidic residue”.

So how do we undo all the damage caused by leading a stressful lifestyle? The answer is simple; shift your perspective to change your habits. Practice centering activities that ground you in love, wisdom, strength, faith, and gratitude. These activities will immediately change your perspective for the better, supporting alkalinity and thus promote balanced health. Try starting your day with prayer and meditation or read uplifting literature while listening to soft music that allows for deep reflection and concentration. Enjoy the art of journaling your feelings, dreams, and blessings daily, to purify your heart and soul; avoiding stress from becoming chronic. Utilizing one or more of these activities on a regular basis will serve to maintain balanced living forever.

I can testify to the fact that these practices really work, and over time, become habitual ways of life that help me make better choices and increase positive feelings about my body and life.  It is a gentler method of changing that is stronger than will power alone and truly allows me to come home to my body and thus my Self (Soul/Spirit) in a way I never could before.

For more information about chronic stress, its harmful impact on the body, and more suggestions for combating it, follow the links below.

Namaste’

Lisa Marie

http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm

http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/a/dailylowstress.htm

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/water-stress-reduction

http://www.vidaville.com/html/Journal-Your-Stress-Away-p-16436.html

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/healthy-mouth-and-body-9/stress-teeth