Before having babies, I was very much in tune with my body and I looked after it very well. After having my first baby I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. The changes were very drastic and I was scared to try to do anything about it, fearing it was a lost cause. What I realised after a long while, was that the main issue was not how I physically looked, although that is very important to me, but at the top of the list of importance was that I was out of tune with my body and how much it meant to me to actually feel my muscles, feel my body working together with me.
If you’ve read my earlier blogs, you will know I have a passion for bikram yoga
. I found bikram a few years before having my babies and was hooked. Unfortunately I let life take over and left the practice of bikram. The usual excuses of moving house, organising our wedding, pregnancy, having babies etc. I took the plunge two years ago and got back into it for a few months and I was on it!! But once again I let it slide and other priorities took over. A few weeks ago I went back to bikram and it felt great. But it wasn’t like it used to be. Bikram used to calm me as soon as I walked into the room, and all thoughts were left outside. This was my time and my gift to myself. To completely immerse myself in meditation and feel my inner being. But this time I was not in tune with me and I was all in my head. My mind kept racing, what was next on the to do list, how much could I get done before picking up the kids etc, when I really needed to be clearing my mind and cleansing my body to get the maximum benefit from the practice.
I had been so out of touch with my body, I couldn’t feel it but after one session of bikram and many since then, I am definitely feeling my body now and from that place I am starting to find my inner me again. I am waking up as if from a long sleep. My strength is coming back. I am more clear headed and alert. The fog is lifting. Being back in my body and feeling what is going on with it is making me more aware and better serves me to deal with the wonderful life I have.
Being in tune with my body makes me whole again. The focus is on the whole of me, not only my mind but also my body and spirit. Getting to know my desires, what nourishes me, why I react the way I do to things, to people, or feel the way I do about certain situations. This knowledge comes from my inner me, not my mind, but from my intuition, my curiosity, my inner resources, ME.
Our body is our best guide and knows us exceptionally well.
Feel it, trust it, be guided by it.
