LOVE YOUR BODY. Do you? Do I?

Why is it so easy for us to feel ‘negative’ feelings toward our bodies? By which I mean, anger... disappointment... disgust... Well, those are several that crop up for me. I tell myself this is normal, everyone feels like this, at least sometimes. But that just isn’t true is it? It might be COMMON to feel these things but it isn’t NORMAL and that is the distinction.

Our bodies clearly are miracles if we take a moment to think about it! And did you know how smart they are? Example – the position of the cervix changes throughout the month. It is higher around ovulation so that the sperm have less distance to travel to reach an egg and fertilise it. It is lower in menstruation as this is no longer a concern. HOW AMAZING IS THAT! (Learnt this awesome face from Period Power by Maisie Hill – fantastic read by the way!) And if there is an imbalance in our postural alignment, it will compensate elsewhere so that the eyes are always level to see what is around us and thus keep us safe from harm.

We have no need to tell our body to do these things, they just know! There is some magical, innate wisdom there. The truth is our body is a miracle...it’s our opinion that it has let us down, a false belief that it is a stranger.

I invite both the pregnant and post-natal mums I work with to listen in to the wisdom of their body, to share a sense of love and kindness, to tune in. After all, your body has protected your baby, nourished your baby, evolved to accommodate it in so many ways and with little mental effort from you, just more of that innate magic at work again. It is worth listening to. It has the answers, though sometimes they are buried deep.

I love that I might share a bit of knowledge or a technique of movement or mind that could help new mums find their way toward believing in their body. But yet, I’m no expert. I’m on a journey with my body too, just like you. Through yoga, I have got much better at listening in and am even enjoying acknowledging what comes up at times...but it is still hard to actually respond to what I hear! We have to actually give our body what it needs to bring it back to ease, but recognising this need is definitely the first step on the way. We can’t solve what we don’t even know!

I avoid telling mums to “love your body” as I know firsthand that this is just simply not as easy as it sounds. Someone telling you to “run faster” probably wouldn’t make it happen – there would be a journey, building up your strength, stamina and fitness. I think it’s becoming increasingly understood that telling someone with anxiety or depression to just “cheer up” isn’t likely to have much impact either. Again, a journey will be underway, probably with many obstacles in the way and battles to be had. So maybe don’t love your body yet...but see it. See what it does for you, what it does for your baby, and listen to what it is calling for.

I read this beautiful poem today and it struck a nerve (and brought a tear to my eye) Consider and enjoy.

Felt Sense Prayer

“I am the pain in your head, the knot in your stomach, the unspoken grief in your smile.

I am your high blood sugar, your elevated blood pressure, your fear of challenge, your lack of trust.

I am your hot flashes, your cold hands and feet, your agitation and your fatigue.

I am your shortness of breath, your fragile low back, the cramp in your neck, the despair in your sigh.

I am the pressure on your heart, the pain down your arm, your bloated abdomen, your constant hunger.

I am where you hurt, the fear that persists, your sadness of dreams unfulfilled.

I am your symptoms, the causes of your concern, the signs of imbalance, your condition of dis-ease.

You tend to disown me, suppress me, ignore me, inflate me, coddle me, condemn me.

I am not coming forth for myself as I am not separate from all that is you.

I come to garner your attention, to enjoin your embrace so I can reveal my secrets.

I have only your best interests at heart as I seek health and wholeness by simply announcing myself.

You usually want me to go away immediately, to disappear, to sleek back into obscurity.

You mostly are irritated or frightened and many times shocked by my arrival.

From this stance you medicate in order to eradicate me. Ignoring me, not exploring me, is your preferred response.

More times than not I am only the most recent notes of a long symphony, the most evident branches of roots that have been challenged for seasons.

So I implore you, I am a messenger with good news, as disturbing as I can be at times.

I am wanting to guide you back to those tender places in yourself, the place where you can hold yourself with compassion and honesty.

If you look beyond my appearance you may find that I am a voice from

your soul.

Calling to you from places deep within that seek your conscious alignment.

I may ask you to alter your diet, get more sleep, exercise regularly, breathe more consciously.

I might encourage you to see a vaster reality and worry less about the day to day fluctuations of life.

I may ask you to explore the bonds and the wounds of your relationships.

I may remind you to be more generous and expansive or to attend to protecting your heart from insult.

I might have you laugh more, spend more time in nature, eat when you are hungry and less when pained or bored; spend time every day, if only for a few minutes, being still.

Wherever I lead you, my hope is that you will realise that success will not be measured by my eradication, but by the shift in the internal landscape from which I emerge.

I am your friend, not your enemy.
I have no desire to bring pain and suffering into your life.

I am simply tugging at your sleeve, too long immune to gentle nudges.

I desire for you to allow me to speak to you in a way that enlivens your higher instincts for self care.

My charge is to energise you to listen to me with the sensitive ear and heart of a mother attending to her precious baby.

You are a being so vast, so complex, with amazing capacities for self- regulation and healing.

Let me be one of the harbingers that lead you to the mysterious core of your being where insight and wisdom are naturally available when called upon with a sincere heart.”

(Author unknown)

Love Your Body

by Kim Mousley, LushTums Pregnancy, Postnatal & Antenatal Education Teacher, BRISTOL.