Monday, February 6, 2012

February

Hi everyone! I hope you all are having a great month so far. Since it's February, I figured I would talk a little bit about love, and how it is reflected in our lives. In this case, I'm talking about self-love. I've heard the great Dr. Wayne Dyer say many times, "you can't give away what you don't have." Meaning, that unless we are loving ourselves, and treating ourselves with grace and compassion, we certainly can't treat others that way, because we won't have it to give away in the first place. So this is where the fitness/health talk comes in. I've been told that the number one relationship we have, is with ourselves. So, naturally treating our minds and bodies with respect is a huge part of the relationship we have with ourselves. I suppose we need to ask ourselves, how are we treating our bodies today? Are we giving ourselves the nutrition and exercise we need in order to go through our day at our highest capacity? Or are we pushing our workouts to the end of the list each day, and coming home to an unhealthy dinner because it's more convenient than preparing a healthy meal? In order to be more loving to those around us, we need to be more loving to ourselves.
I recently heard a great piece of advice from a woman named Gabrielle Berstein. She suggested making a list of "non-negotiables," where we write down the things we are willing to do just today for a better life. These are things we will not compromise on. For example, if you work out 2 days week, one of your "non-negotiables" could be that during those workouts, you will give it 100% of your effort, instead of the usual 80%. Perhaps you could even consider bumping it up to 3 times a week, as a way to start showing up for yourself? Or, instead of having chocolate every night when you get home, maybe decide to drop back to just Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays when you allow yourself that treat. This isn't about deprivation, but rather the small steps you can definitely commit to, and that you know you won't compromise on. And be realistic so that you stick to it...remember it's about giving yourself something, not taking something away. Maybe each month you could tweek your list just a bit, so you slowly work towards a more healthy lifestyle and give more love to yourself.