Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul Part 5 of 9: Being Comfortable with Your Body
December 30, 2009 by dr. lam
Coming toward the end of his section on “Reinventing the Body”, Chopra challenges the reader to ask how comfortable the reader is with certain activities: looking at himself/herself naked, changing clothes at the gym, wearing a form fitting bathing suit, dancing in front of others, hugging, etc. What he is driving at is two things: how is your mind’s perception of your body and how comfortable are you with your own body.
He talks constantly throughout the book of “stuck energy”, where we have mind blocks on our behaviors and perceptions. Our body composition can be a source of frustration and fear for many of us. Honestly, until I started doing yoga about 10 months ago, I was extremely uncomfortable with my body. I now have a new relationship with my body both in terms of how I carry myself and how I work with my body. I am much more comfortable today because yoga not only has transformed my body physically but changed my relationship with my body at the same time.
Chopra encourages us to get in tune with our body and play through scenarios that compel us into a stuck position. For example, if you are uncomfortable changing at the gym, perhaps imagine how other people do not look at you and do not care about how you look. Start becoming more comfortable in your own skin, and start to see yourself differently, embracing your body however it looks. And if you are not happy with what you see, first accept yourself the way you are and then change your body to fit your new mental image of it.
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7 Responses to “Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul Part 5 of 9: Being Comfortable with Your Body”
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Dr. Lam, I can’t sleep so I’m reading your blogs!!!!
My definition of fitness is being in alignment with one’s body. So my new goal in fitness this year is not to reach the “perfect” level of fitness as the focus (that had always been my ideal), but to focus on getting in tune with my body and owning it. I think if someone focuses on mentally accepting his/her body and embracing it and developing confidence in his/her body in whatever ways that person needs to gain confidence, instead of feeling uncomfortable in his/her own skin, the physical fitness will naturally come. A person will have a natural desire to engage in more physical exercise activities because doing so will make that person feel more in tune with his/her body to match his/her personal perspective of his/her physical condition. If someone is out of tune with his/her body, it’s pretty easy to see how exercise would be a drudge. Fitness is both a mental relationship with one’s body and an actual level of physical fitness, and when the two are in alignment with each other, I call that perfect fitness, and not so much how much body fat percentage someone has or how much muscle. Just my theory here…lol
Hey, I used to make fun of yoga (not really!) and think that heck, I can burn off more calories jumping up and down because I viewed exercise as a calorie burning activity, but I know see that yoga really helps someone achieve alignment with the mind and body relationship , and that is the main road to ultimate fitness!!! I might take that up, Dr. Lam…lol You’re finally starting to rub off on me!…lol
Really good points about recognizing certain things that we might feel uncomfortable over and focusing on overcoming whatever those are.
I think a good mental exercise to get in alignment with the body and self is to realize your perspective of how you are viewing yourself. Do you have a positive image of yourself as a person? Do you feel confident about who you are? Are you comfortable with your emotions? Etc. I think getting in tune with one’s self is important in getting in tune with one’s perspective of his/her body.
My focus this year is to aim for alignment (getting in tune with myself) in all areas of life: spiritually, physically, emotionally, with my feelings, with what I want and what I desire, confidence, etc.
Dr. Lam, I really liked your point about accepting ourselves first before aiming to change whatever we dislike, and that goes not only for fitness but for also maybe certain features we don’t like about ourselves, something we hope to improve on, etc. I think that accepting everything, the good and the bad about ourselves, our history, etc, is good for personal well-being and the ability to make healthy changes in the future. It also helps us be content with things we can’t change, and it helps us live in the moment.
Great wisdom in this blog!!!!
Dr. Lam, you ROCK!!!!!!!! I LOVE your blogs!!!!!!!
thanks heather. i totally agree. nice goals for 2010. i am part of multiple accountability groups to attain my goals. i would have you consider partnering with someone or 2 other people to set up accountability for those goals or post those goals in a public forum like this one for example.
That’s a good idea, Dr. Lam!
Glad to see you back, Heather!!! I also enjoyed everything you wrote here.
Regarding the aspect of fitness (and yoga) ….I shredded my right labrum (shoulder) earlier this year while doing simple cartwheels. If I’d been a yoga-devotee, it may not have happened, or been as severe, I am convinced of this. I guess I’d thought it (yoga) was simply one more excuse to buy cool clothes, +. I see it differently now.
Re: the blog, that’s incredible. It’s difficult to believe you ever felt that way. There has been a metamorphosis, one we can see and hear.
Again, glad you’re back, Heather! Here’s to 2010!
btw, if you want cool yoga clothes, try lulu lemon (pronounced leMon). they are super cool. just got back from a new year’s ball. check out the photos on flickr. it is 2 am in hong kong 2010 already!
LOL, Nord, you are hilarious!!! LOL
Nord, I’m still sticking around here! Dr. Lam, can’t get rid of me here even if he tries! Poor him!…lol
FUN, Dr. Lam!!!