It’s easy to find complaints with our bodies. Maybe we don’t look how we think we should, or how we wish we could. Maybe we have health struggles that makes existing in our body more difficult. Maybe we find ourselves frustrated on (or off!) our mat because our body just isn’t moving/working the way we wish it would.
Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, let’s rewrite that internal narrative. When we find ourselves thinking or speaking poorly of our body, let’s reroute our thoughts to what we are thankful for about our body.
Our body has been here for us since day one. Day after day it’s awakened and led us out of bed and through our lives. Just as we began to practice looking through the lens of gratitude last week to stop comparing ourselves to others, let’s find that lens of gratitude while looking at our own self.
Your worth does not hinge on how your body looks or behaves.
Your practice is not better if your body can go deeper into stretches, can step through from down dog to lunge easily, or can find deep backbends.
Let’s stop trying to make our body work for a specific practice and instead make our practice work for our body. Show up on the mat every day with the intention to learn the language of your body, listen to its needs, and help it. Love it.
I leave you with one of my favorite poems by Hollie Holden (and I’m sure you’ve been in a class where I’ve read this.)
Today I asked my body what she needed,
Which is a big deal
Considering my journey of
Not Really Asking That Much.
I thought she might need more water.
Or protein.
Or greens.
Or yoga.
Or supplements.
Or movement.
But as I stood in the shower
Reflecting on her stretch marks,
Her roundness where I would like flatness,
Her softness where I would like firmness,
All those conditioned wishes
That form a bundle of
Never-Quite-Right-Ness,
She whispered very gently:
Could you just love me like this?
Every time you see your reflection today, really look at yourself. Say “I am thankful for my body.”
You are enough.