Take Care of Your Body
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”
We need our bodies to be healthy to feel whole. When our body is sore, tired or strained, we feel it in all areas of our lives. It’s harder to think and takes more energy to manage emotions when our physical body struggles.
Taking care of your body means something different to everyone, and even different for an individual at different times.
After a bilateral mastectomy, taking care of my body meant laying down on the floor so my shoulders could relax. I spent a lot of time hunched over the first couple weeks after surgery and my body protested much movement.
Laying on the floor was the only way I could convince my body to uncoil. This stretch was the beginning of my exercises toward recovery. It’s about all I did for the week leading up to my physical therapy appointment.
Meet your body wherever it is. Healthy does not have to be an hour long workout at a gym or running marathons. Physical health means you nourish your body and can move with freedom and joy.
Do not judge your current state. You are beautiful and worthy. Thank your body for housing your soul. Be compassionate as you figure out how to promote wholeness in your physical health.
Your beginning may look like mine, laying on the floor letting your muscles unwind. It may be walking even a little bit each day. It could be committing to a weekly workout routine. Trust your body to let you know when to ease off and when to step it up.
Start where you are with joy and self-love. Take care of your body and it will take care of you.
