Being In Good Relationship With Our Bodies

I have been sickly off and on this spring, last time with fever, headache, and a bad cough and aching body. It quite surprised me. I haven’t been sick like that for years.

I experienced a range of emotions: first I was sad and then angry with my body, because I had to cancel one of my Explore-Shops, to which I was really looking forward. While I was in bed with all my flu symptoms, I became aware how easy it is to be in good relationship with my body as long as I was feeling healthy and energetic, and how much more of a challenge it is when you are feeling sick. At the same time, I knew that I could only get back to feeling better if I stayed in good relationship with my body. I knew if I continued to be angry and treated my body like an enemy my healing process will be much harder and take longer. Since I am my body, I decided it was best to stay friends with it and surrender to the situation.

This is another way we can be in conflict. You could say that my body was presenting me with a conflict. I needed to work something out in my relationship with my body. I believe that it is crucial to our healing process to be in good relationship with our bodies whether we have the flu or a more severe physical condition. Being in good relationship is also important to stay healthy. During those days of my illness, I became aware of how easy it is to experience our bodies as being hostile towards us and how often we, and a lot of our doctors, treat them like enemies we have to battle and conquer. It seems to me that our society does not support us in developing positive relationships with our bodies.

I have not done specific research on the connection between our health and the relationship we have with our bodies, but I have a feeling that there is a significant one. As a relationship system coach I would not be surprised if studies in this area would come up with some very interesting findings. What I do know, is that as soon as I decided to stay friends with my body, it became much easier for me to cope with the flu and its symptoms. Being sick actually strengthened my relationship with my body. I am much more appreciative for all it does and continues to do so well for me. I can not take it for granted. I also sense that it will be more important than ever, now that I am older and postmenopausal, that I stay best friends with my body and stay in good communication with it. When I was young, being in good relationship with my body seemed to come effortlessly, except during my teen age years. Now that I am older it will be more of a conscious act. My body has changed and has different needs. When I was sick it needed to rest a lot. Maybe it needed some down time that I’ve denied it before. What I also know and have experienced is that our bodies have their own wisdom, knowledge, and intelligence. Something most of us do not know how to access. In my eyes, a first step to be able to tap into the knowledge and wisdom of our bodies is to create a positive relationship with them. I hope I can stay friends with it for the rest of my life.

 What kind of relationship do you have with your body? Do you like it the way it is? If not, how would you like it to be and what would be your first step to make the necessary changes?