The last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride for me in many ways. One of the ways is that I have been receiving messages regarding my personal journey since the Winter Solstice, and one of them has been around my relationship with the body. I was told that the body is my partner in this journey, and needs to be accorded the respect that a partner deserves.
Now, I eat my vegetables, I do my yoga and I walk, I drink water and get lots of sleep (most of the time). I knew there were some things that my body didn’t like – café lattes, chocolate, baked goods –all the good stuff. And I knew that I eat them regardless (the lattes are gone and chocolate is on its way out). My body communicates with me quite clearly by causing pain, weight gain etc. It has no problem communicating with me. I seem to have a problem respecting its needs.
We’re told that we, as spirits, created the body in order to experience a life on earth. We continue to create it throughout our lifetimes in how we treat it.
We created the body to have an intelligence of its own, then, decided not to respect that intelligence. We over ride it constantly, pushing too hard, forcing the body to do more than it is able to with ease, forcing it to deal with things it’s not prepared to deal with, like pesticides and preservatives.
We accord other people more respect that we give the body. Our boss says this has to be done today, so even though the body has had enough, we do it. We create stress and tension by doing so. We want to see a show on television or listen to one more podcast, so we push the body. We love lattes and chocolate, especially together, so we continue to partake, even though the body cannot handle them. Blatant disrespect.
I decided to have a brief conversation with my body, my knees specifically, asking what they wanted most from me, and the answer I got was “respect”. I was expecting “stop eating chocolate”, but “respect” says it all.
I have a vision for my life as the spirit inhabiting the body. What I was told is that my relationship with the body needs to be a partnership based on respect for that vision to be realized. I need the support of the body I have created in order to do anything in this lifetime. It will support me as spirit in my various adventures and experiences if I support it.
I support it by dealing with my stuff, the blocks I have put in place that inhibit the body functions – the fear, the anger, the shame, the guilt. I support it by putting myself first for a change, without guilt.
That may sound selfish, but a little selfish is what is needed right now. This year 2020 promises to be a year where we need a lot of self-care, particularly the first six months. One thing clear to me personally is that if I don’t take the body with me in this ride called 2020 as an equal partner, I don’t have a great chance of riding the waves with ease.
So, I’m doing the work:
- letting go of what needs to go, on all levels – chocolate, anger, guilt, stress
- listening to my body and providing what it needs to the best of my ability in the moment
- stopping being hard on myself for not being super woman
- respecting the bodies limits as my limits – we’re partners after all
- thanking the body for being such a wonderful partner on this journey
That’s a tall order. I’m still discovering behaviours and beliefs that work against both me and my body. They can be insidious, and I need to pay attention to see them. There is a lot to shift there, but I’m determined not to get down on myself as I progress. I’m inviting the change that this year will bring and is already bringing.
