We are made up of mind, body and soul. When embracing self-love practices, it is important to address all these parts that make up who we are. For the first week of this journey in self-love discovery, we are going to address our bodies and get moving.
Bodies are a beautiful blessing. They can walk, run, jump, dance, climb, feel the earth around us and so much more. We have fingers and toes that we can clap, curl and wiggle. We have muscles that flex and fat that cushions. We have hair that protects and skin that is a semi-permeable barrier that keeps us connected, but safe. We have lungs that breath in the sweet air and we have a heart that pumps blood and oxygen throughout our body to keep it all going. Yes, bodies are a beautiful blessing, and we should love them well.
As I mentioned before in Self-Love Journey, all too often I am harsh and critical to my body. I don’t always appreciate how my body looks and I certainly don’t always remember gratitude for all the activities it allows me to complete daily. So, this week I am embracing the gift of my body and I’m going to get moving.
I am not talking about forcing myself to sign up for a workout class, or boot camp. Or demanding that I get moving with the goal of reshaping my body into something I find more acceptable. No, I am going to get moving just to enjoy that which my body can already do. This practice in self-love isn’t about getting in shape, it’s about appreciating all that my body is already capable of, and this means it will be different for every person that tries it out.
I have always maintained an active lifestyle, but I don’t always want to get moving, especially when it is only so that I can control my body to perfectly fit a standard I don’t think it yet meets. This week I got moving without labeling it as exercise and without reshaping in mind. This week I got moving to remember that I have a body that was built for movement and that benefits from it as well.
I have a playlist I created called “Wake Up Sunshine,” and this week I set an intention to wake up and get moving to it each day. Some mornings I could only manage a little sway back and forth while I drank my coffee. It wasn’t until later in the afternoon that I put it on again that I managed a little more, and that’s okay.
I also went for some walks. I grabbed my camera, but ended up only using it once. Instead I focused on what the ground felt like beneath my feet. There was mud that caked to the sides and added a little extra weight until I jumped in a puddle and washed it away. I reached out and touched the leaves. Broke them up and smelt their fresh fragrance. I picked up a piece of broken plate and felt how smooth its edges were. I walked and tried to be present with exactly what my body was allowing me to do.
I went on a bike ride. I didn’t go fast and I didn’t go far, but the important thing was that I went. I rode and I felt an invigorating sense of freedom. Walking was wonderful, but biking gave me more ground to cover.
I went dancing. I danced with my peers at a club, I danced in my room alone and I danced barefoot outside with some local kids and another friend. I danced so I could laugh, not so I could look cool or sweat away calories. I found freedom in the reckless abandon the kids offered up in their dancing. I let go of feeling cool and tried to shake my booty with as much carelessness as the kids who had stuffed plastic bags and wadded paper down their pants to make their bums appear to bounce even more. I let the music fill my ears and radiate throughout my body until I couldn’t help but move along.
This week I remembered that I have a body and it is a blessing. I know that we all have different bodies that are capable of different things at different times. I encourage you this week to get moving in whatever way that looks like for you, but get moving not because you are just trying to get in better shape or because you don’t feel your body is acceptable until it can climb a summit or running a marathon or whatever. Get moving because you care about yourself and want to remember the blessing your body already is.
The best part is, that as we move, our bodies positively respond by releasing endorphins—the body’s personal feel good chemicals. As we get moving we feel even better about ourselves and are one step closer to loving ourselves well. Remember it’s not about what you do, just get moving!
Wake Up Sunshine Playlist:
- Runnin’ (Lost It All)—Naughty Boy ft. Beyoncé, Arrow Benjamin
- Happy—Pharrell Williams
- Uptown Funk—Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
- Sunshine—Matisyahu
- On Top Of The World—Imagine Dragons
- Best Day Of My Life—American Authors
- Lovely Day—Bill Withers
- Shake It Off—Taylor Swift