"Understanding My Body Series" (Continued)

2. Sing “My Body is a Wonderland”- LOVE YOUR BODY!

OK, first of all my apologies for the late post. Most of you know that I am moving to Melbourne for work, and the last few days had to be spent totally into the wrap-up. But don’t worry, we gonna catch up nice and fine :-). This one comes from one of Bangkok’s lovely airport lounges, so read with the Thai hospitality pampering you :-)

So HERE is the next most important thing to focus on, after The Trio- LOVING YOUR BODY!

Before we get to understand the why/ how of that, lets recall what we would typically do something/ someone we are in love with (and further suggestions are welcome!):-

1. Love means Never having to say I’m Sorry!: Yes, those immortal words from the epic novel “Love Story”. And it starts with this, when it comes to loving your body too- give it, and yourself- SPACE! Both will commit mistakes, but still both will need to watch each other’s back and not give up on one another- just keep coming back to one another, no matter what.

2. Love warrants Care, Protection for the one you Love: “Give, before you expect in return” they say. And the same works when it comes to being in love with your own body. Before you expect it to give you those results on looks, performance, and overall health, you need to be caring for it, protect it from prolonged and undue stress, and treat it like it needs to be treated- A SUPERSTAR’S BODY :-). She’s yours, after all- remember?

3. To Love is to Sacrifice: Has someone ever asked you- “what all would you give away for being with me”? And what did you say? Well, guess what- your love affair with your body will warrant sacrifices- of things that you may love the most- that lazy sitting on the couch each evening, the frequent flights to your favourite fast food joints every weekend, and maybe even that regular smoke, or drinking contests at parties. And when you are good enough, she will love you back. When your body loves you back, believe me, it’s the most beautiful thing that would ever be.

4. To Love is to RESPECT: No one needs an explanation on what this means. Without a degree of respect, no love lasts- no matter what its initial intensity is. Similarly, unless one doesn’t learn to respect the interests of his/ her body and strive to meet them, all fitness peaks would be temporary and the person would keep slipping down the pits, as soon as his/ her motivation sees a dip. Respect for your body will protect it always- even from yourself.

5. Talk to me, Baby: All of them writers made millions of bucks giving out this one sermon- COMMUNICATE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS! Irony is, we still tend to miss on that. Talking to your body- understanding what it wants, and prepping it in advance for what you want from it- is perhaps the gist of this complete write. This spans the entire Trio of exercise, diet, and rest. Developing this dialogue with one’s body takes time, and will perfect over time. But being on it from the first day is non-negotiable and very important. Do you love her enough? Well if you do, you gotta learn to listen to her.

6. Love me for what I am, not what you want me to be: It is important to love your body the way it is TODAY, for it to beautify further and become your desired body of tomorrow. Walk to that mirror and see her respond each day to your hard-work on The Trio. Hating one’s looks, being ashamed of your body, is the worse feedback you could give to her. And that’s not going to help her one bit to live up to your dream. So love your body like it is today, and it will make you very proud tomorrow.

7. To Love is to LIVE!: Love teaches one to live. And once you are in love with your body, the very meaning of life as a whole will change. This transformation is not something that can be put in words- it is for each one of us out there to walk the path ourselves and experience it. At THIS point, most of us would have covered 50% path towards our fitness goal!

Being in love with your body is a current thing, not a thing of the future. It protects our bodies from our own selves most of the times, since our schedules and business priorities sacrifice bodily interests at the drop of a hat. There are sacrifices that you would make to give loving attention to your body, and there has to be a rigor in doing that.

But all that said- it also means never having to say sorry. You would make mistakes- and your body also at times would not yield all that you want from it. Both of you need to figure out a middle and win-win path from there.

My Confessions and Realizations:

My idea of fitness was punishing my body into DOING WHAT I WANTED IT TO DO- at work, in the gym, while sleeping, while eating, even while resting. It was stressing my body all the more, and the poor thing would keep trying to guess what I want from her, while I would never give her a patient ear to understand what she wants.

This lead to a lot of problems including ill-health, injuries, even surgeries in my case.

I then realized that this exploitative behaviour from me is not helping my body one bit. With some guidance from a gym trainer and reading some books, I got to understand my mistakes.

I still make mistakes. But I love her, so I don’t say “I’m Sorry” :-)

“Understanding My Body Series” will continue with 4 more posts on understanding the basics. I request your most serious attention right now, as this will form the foundation core of your fit future. I am back in a couple of hours from Melbourne with the next post, and we would have caught up on last week’s lost time.