It snowed this morning... too early in the season... but with it, the snow brought a sense of relief. The cold arrived, no longer hovering in the distance.
I am renowned for being a devout sun worshiper who slips into oblivion each December, but the abrupt temperature drop this year brings with it an opportunity I've been waiting for. This winter I'll be taking my power back - and encouraging my clients to do the same.
I've trained countless strong, powerful women who handily maintain balance in most aspects of their lives. They take care of their jobs, bosses, lovers, friends, children, and four-legged babies. They show up for what matters. But when they finally get around to taking care of their own bodies - the muscle and bone that carries them through their lives - they write themselves off as relatively powerless. They set their physical wellbeing aside as a pain-in-the-ass luxury they may or may not get around to addressing sometime next year.
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| Graphic by @NancyVanReece |
As the holidays approach and winter slides up under our skin, we have the power to make our bodies a priority, to get better and stronger in spite of - and in defiance of - the weather. We are not hapless victims of holiday parties, pumpkin pie, and egg nog. We are willing participants in our own health.
Give yourself a little credit, and it will set you free from the tedious, predictable pattern of treating your body like a garbage disposal for the months of November and December and trying to beat it into submission come January.
We all have the option to make a different choice at any time. If I were diagnosed with a degenerative disease tomorrow, I'm pretty sure I would eat better and get moving in every way I could to salvage my body and life. Change isn't necessarily comfortable or easy, but it is doable if it matters enough.
Odds are you kick ass in many aspects of your days. You get things done, so give a little credit where credit is due. Your body is your greatest, most essential asset, and the power to make it better is yours. It's not about marathon training. There are a million ways to take better care. The easiest of which is to simply walk away from things that will make you feel like crap later.
And please stop trying to lose weight. Stop trying to shrink. Build muscle and flexibility. Take a minute to breathe and stretch. Make your presence known - broader, bigger, stronger. Bottom line, unless you want to live with the same tired, old discomfort for the rest of your life, doing something else, something different, is the only option. Your body and weight will follow.
Take just a little of the copious dedication and compassion you give so freely to others and direct it back at yourself. When you feel better - when you have more energy - there is so much more to give.
