Bodies Don't Lie

I have been thinking about my previous post where I stated that the only concrete thing I could come up with to make you feel better involved not doing certain things, and well, I was being painfully incomplete and framing self-love as the absence of self-destruction. There is so much more to it than that! You also have to be proactive, which brings me to the other thing that is really, really, SUPER important for feeling good right now.

It's really simple: listen to your body and do what it's telling you.

Bodies don't lie, they tell you what they need. Hungry? Thirsty? Stressed? Horny? Tired? Restless? Your body will tell you. How does your body feel when you're happy? pissed off? nervous? Bodies don't lie when it comes to feelings; if you've got some internal conflict, it's probably because your mind is trying to silence your body. Love your body enough to listen. Treat it like someone you respect and pay attention!

Your body is not just a vehicle or a means to an end. And hey, I get it, maybe you have a hard time figuring out what your body is telling you, maybe you've spent so much time figuring out ways to ignore and silence your body you've forgotten how to understand it. I know it's not always easy, particularly when your mind or your ego or all that pain accumulates and you just want to feel in control of something. Maybe you have a hard time listening to your body because you carry a lot of shame about it. That's ok, our (American) culture promotes a lot of fucked up shit about bodies particularly around gender. Letting your body talk again is an important step to getting rid of all that shame and bullshit that wasn't really yours to begin with. Here's some stuff that works for me, that might be worth a shot if you're at a loss about how to listen to your body.

1. Stillness. Let yourself be still and quiet, take some deep breaths, feel what it feels like to be in your own body. Be present. Find those spots where you hold tension and let them go if you can. Try to be still both in your body and in your mind. Try not to judge yourself or anything else. You're not perfect and you never will be, and neither will anyone else. Think of your body as a gift and think about all the things it can do.

2. Movement. Get up and move! Do something you enjoy or used to enjoy before you stopped listening to your body and started judging it. Lace up your shoes and walk, or bike, or dance (bonus for one-person dance parties). Do things that feel good! Climb a fucking tree, dig in the dirt, swim, rent a paddle-boat, do anything you like, just move your body. Every day. Things get better when you move your body joyfully.

3. Nourishment. I am not going to talk about dieting. Food is the fuel for your brain, your body, your soul. Eat food that honors all of those parts of you. Eat food you like, try new foods, find as many vegetables and fruits you've never tried and try them. Learn how to cook something raw and vegan. Learn how to cook something with a lot of fiber. Don't starve or stuff yourself. Get nutrients that you can only get from green things, red things, yellow things. Eat as many natural colors at each meal that you can. Indulge yourself in empty calories once in a while. Food is not a weapon, punishment, or reward. Also: drink water. All-day, every day. Cheaper than soda, better than coffee, being hydrated feels really good. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

4. Rest. Get plenty of sleep. Take a nap if you can/must. Try to keep a consistent sleep schedule every day. It feels good and your body will thank you. Also, your loved ones will thank you for being more fun to be around.

Recap: Listen to your body, love it every way you can. Loving yourself feels good, and it draws good people and good things into your life. Be still, move, nourish, and rest. The more you love yourself the more you will love other people and the more they will love you (and if they don't love you more for loving yourself, you probably don't need 'em around)!