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Even as a functional medicine health coach I have to admit I get off track sometimes. Today was one of those days.
HEALTHY BODY.
I’m not sure if I woke up on the wrong side of the bed or what, but I wasn’t feeling like adhering to my usual self-care practices.
My meditation was cut short since I couldn’t seem to sit with my racing mind and chaotic thoughts. Then I decided to do an online workout routine I normally enjoy, but that wasn’t happening either. 10 minutes in I said forget it, even though I am someone who ENJOYS moving my body daily and it rarely feels like a chore. I value my health and know the benefits of movement and that is usually all the motivation I need.
So with the vision of how I feel after I exercise in mind and the connection to how much I value my health, feeling and looking good, I set out for a walk. If a walk was all I could give myself today, so be it.
IMPERFECTIONS.
I have moments where I don’t appreciate my healthy body and instead see all it’s imperfections—aging skin, loss of muscle tone, an extra few pounds, and maybe an occasional ache or pain. These also become motivators since I know movement makes me feel better about myself.
My negative attitude seemed to persist though, even as I took in the beauty around me and listened to a podcast I was looking forward to hearing. Midway through my walk, even with the beach only .5 mile in the distance, I had to fight the urge to turn back.
IMMENSE GRATITUDE.
I got to the beach and something shifted for me. With bare feet in the sand, an expansive view of the water, and the sounds of birds and waves, I seemed to get my groove back. I sat for a short 10 minutes and took it all in, but that 10 minutes felt abundant, calm and left space for the rest of my day to look different after this change in my perspective.
The greatest gift of all was the depth of gratitude I had for my body and all it’s imperfections, when I was stopped by a car who asked for directions. The passenger in the back seat was a woman I suspected was in her 60s who had impaired speech. When I got closer to the car I saw there was walker folded on the seat next to her. It seemed she might have had MS or something similar. We enjoyed a brief exchange as I gave them directions to their destination. When they were about to drive off, we said our friendly goodbyes and she looked me up and down with a big smile of admiration and a glimmer in her eyes as if she was reminiscing about memories of her healthy body, and said, “enjoy your run”.
LESSONS LEARNED.
No matter how much we see the positives in our life, I know we all struggle with just “being human” from time to time. That means getting caught up in our negative old stories and patterns. But it’s how we work with them that matters. I could have easily sat down in front of my computer all day and never looked up, getting caught up in my old stories about my body and frustrations, but I looked towards my values to take me on the walk all the way to the beach no matter what, because deep down I trusted I was choosing what I really needed.
The woman in the car brought me back to a great life lesson. I used to HATE my “fat thighs” when I was a kid and I used to have to tell myself “I’d rather have two fat thighs than thighs that couldn’t walk” and this shifted my perspective to gratitude. The women in the car reminded me of that today. With impaired speech and the inability to use her legs to walk let alone run, she reminded me I get to CHOOSE when she can’t.
This is a great motivator for change.
Even if you don’t feel like doing things to promote your own health, think about the values that might carry you there and remember you get to choose.
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If you want to talk about making changes in your life to create a healthier you, book a free discovery call to learn how we can work together and get you where you want to go.
