Our Loyal & Generous Bodies

We are constantly assulted with false body images of celebrities, models and other media, designed to have a certain "look", a look that is unacheiveable and unrealistic, even for the people being portrayed.

Have you seen The Dove Film? With this level of unreality surrounding us, is it any wonder we can be so self-critical? No one can live up to this image, nor should we make ourselves crazy and unhappy in trying.

I work with so many wonderful men and women who make the commitment to themselves to value their fitness every  single day.
They have made the small changes that make a big difference to their health and have learned how to take better care of themselves and their families.

They have grown in understanding of the body's natural state of health and work with the body rather than fighting it, resenting it or hating it. Asking them to love and appreciate the body they currently live in has been challenging for many.

We have such a hard time perceiving ourselves in a positive way. We allow others to influence what we believe we should look like and in turn allow this to determine how we treat ourselves.

Gratitude for the benefits of healthy movement, the ability to create and care for our children and loved ones, feeling our aliveness, all starts to shift our thinking and brings us to a greater awareness of how we can take better care of ourselves.

The difficulty in appreciating our bodies was eloquently described by a beautiful woman who has recently acheived what most of us would consider an a amazing feat - climbing to basecamp at Mt Everest.

"You know, I bore people to death with telling them that I realised climbing to Basecamp (only a few weeks ago) how loyal and generous this body is and I talk to it as it if is letting me down constantly. While it isn't.

It got me up a few mountains, yeah I am not as fit as I used to be, or as thin or muscular as I used to be, and I have a layer of pudge on my stomach that refuses to budge.

But I am 48 and dang it, the stuff this body can do is pretty amazing. Most of the things on that list I can do. And more. It's a matter of seeing things differently, I have come to realise."

See yourself as the unique and beautiful creature that you are and live accordingly.

Health and fitness is NOT about what you look like - it is about how you care for yourself, mind and body.