I was recently with one of my students and she was sharing that she could not understand why her spine was the way it was, and rolled her eyes that she will now have to work on keeping her spine well FOR-EVER!  There is a common theme we all work from. There is something elementally wrong with my body, and no one else's. I am essentially damaged goods, why me??

We have been taught that the body should just work. There should not have to be any thought to it, it magically just keeps on ticking. Until for some unknown reason it breaks, then find a doctor who will prescribe the magic pill to fix it and bring it back to "normal".   "Normal" then must mean that one need not think about the body, it just works, feels and looks great too!  Take that for granted.  If that does not hold true, then there is something innately WRONG!  Sometimes we may travel far and wide to find the cure, the fix, and it cannot be found.  Again, there is something innately wrong.  We constantly compare our body to some grand and glorious body that is so far removed from what we are, so that adds to the fact that we are FLAWED MERCHANDISE.  We wish we could return it for complete satisfaction, guaranteed...!

Does this sound familiar?  Well, I hate to say this, but we have been LIED TO!!  The above paragraph is UNTRUE!  Our bodies do have magic, and our bodies are begging us to notice, nourish, be kind, honor, have gratitude for it.  We need to reconnect to the magical realm of the living body.  We must wake up and rebuild awareness of our entire body and the soul within it.  Become sensitive to it in all situations. We need to notice how we walk in it, sit in it, eat to nourish it, sleep in it, be sexual in it, breathe in it, practice yoga in it, be still in it, etc.  WE need to take responsibility for keeping it in good condition.  Most people take better care of their car, or their house.  Those are vessels, they get care, why does the body get ignored?  It is because WE ARE LAZY!  It is too much trouble, takes too much time, it isn't fun, it is not worth it because it just does not work!

I lived this way for many years of my life.  I too, took my body for granted.  When I began to feel pain physically and psychically, it was a wake up call to action.  I knew there must be a way to find health, find peace, really find ME within it.  That is when I found Yoga.  When I joined my first few classes as a student, I noticed how stiff I was.  At age 35 I felt like I was in my 80's!  Touch my toes? Impossible!  As I kept at it, each week I would feel a slight change, the poses came easier, I began to get excited.  Then I noticed how I was eating.  I remembered years before when I was working with a wild and crazy Russian weight trainer, he yelled at me for eating a greasy pork barbecue sandwich before working out, and committed me to eating well.  That moment reentered my mind and I began to visit a nutritionist, and change my eating habits.  Then, I started seeing and feeling my body change and evolve.  Once that happened, and I resolved to commit to a path, I noticed how important people, Healers, were brought into my path.  I met my soul mentor, Red Bear (who I am now soul mated with) and then Gabriel Halpern, who brought me to the path of teaching yoga as a healer. Other wonderful healers continue to share their wisdom with me.  I consider them my partners in healing.  I have an arsenal of meaningful human beings and healers who help me with my body, soul, and mind.  But I am the leader of my body, I am leading my whole being into BEAUTY!

I DARE YOU to COURAGEOUSLY establish a connection to your body and soul, now, this year and beyond.  The body speaks in many ways.  Sit quietly, and begin to listen.  Look in the mirror, get to know it.  Do not compare yourself to an unreachable cultural ideal (that ideal is not a healthy ideal by the way). Instead, welcome the beauty that your individual body displays.  You were created as an individual. Unlike anyone else. Honor that individuality, stop judging it!  STOP IGNORING your body and LOVE IT!  That reconnection will bring aliveness, and healing.  Sit quietly and ask it questions, feel your soul living within the cocoon of your body.  The BODY is the HOME of the SOUL and SPIRIT, it is our SACRED VESSEL.  Begin TODAY, THIS YEAR to re-connect to the magic within the body.  You may be surprised with what you find. You will find your own GENUINE BEAUTY within and without.