Friday, March 20, 2009

What Your Healthy Whole Body & a Well-Tuned Vehicle Have in Common

By Deborah Lindholm

It's a common occurrence for us to use our body in order to identify ourselves. We use labels such as tall, short, thin, muscular, curvy, healthy, and unhealthy and so on. There are very few people who are able to take that step outside of a particular definition and consider our body as what it is in reality - a blessed vehicle carrying us through times of joy, troubles, victory and challenges.

Instead of defining it and thus letting the definition rule the way you treat your body, because there really is more to a body than size or shape, why not seize the opportunity to take ultimate care of it? Treat it as the beautiful vehicle it actually is.

There is a common metaphor often used when discussing the human body and it just happens to be a car. Both being vehicles we depend on to get us where we need to go, properly taken care of they can both be counted on and reliable in their own way.

How Do You Care For Your Car And How Do You Care For Your Body?

Many of us treat our cars much better than we treat our bodies. We put only the best fuel in the gas tank, no matter how much more it costs over the regular fuel, and then we fill our bodies with food that is essentially void of nutrition. We ritually wash our cars every weekend, the metaphorical car spa and yet we don't spend any time or money on basic self care.

When our body gives us nudges such as pings and knocks and other loud, unavoidable signals when something is required, we tend to ignore it. However, the slightest sniffle or shimmy coming from underneath the hood of the car sends us immediately to our mechanic for diagnosis and treatment.

You may very well be thinking how dangerous it could be if you ignore these symptoms from your car. Although this is true, as brakes that are squeaking or an unusual grinding coming from the rear axle could result in an accident, the grunts and groans from your body could be equally dangerous. We've each heard those horrid stories of a friend of family member ignoring all the signs until it was too late to do anything about them.

Rather than continue on this path, appreciate your body in whatever shape, form, and situation it is in. It has carried you this far in life. It has taken you wherever you need to go and it hasn't let you down. Start taking excellent care of it today. Embrace your healthy whole body because while you are much more than your body, you cannot exist physically and experience life without it.

Some Questions to Consider:

Your car may start to spat and sputter, becoming unable to run or take you where you need to go if you don't use the right grade of fuel. Are you using the best fuel possible? Drinking more water and replacing those empty calories with appropriate nutrients will feed your body properly so your body will take you far.

There's a blinking 'check engine' light on your dashboard, trying to be noticed. We are talking about self care here. Have you scheduled in some time for yourself, for checkups and some personal down time? Taking a walk or hike with family and friends, or a weekly date night with your sweetheart - there are many options available for taking a step away to enjoy the life you have been given, find the balance to make it all happen, and first and foremost, start paying attention to the signals your body is sending you.

It makes sense to take care of yourself in all the ways that you know how and are able to. You can wait until your car breaks down to get it repaired or you can choose regular maintenance, following up right away when you notice a rattle, a chug in the engine, wiper blades that don't clear the windshield, any malfunction.

Last but not least, when you find the tread wearing thin on your tires, you replace them right? Each of us needs to take time out to evaluate the steady running of our lives, where we are and where we want to be. It's normal for our needs change over time and ignoring these changing needs results in us ignoring who we really are - and this is not good for our health or our happiness.

So, next time you're at the gas station or washing your car step back and remember that you wouldn't be able to do any of those tasks if it weren't for the divine vehicle you're residing in - your body. Take great care of it; it's the only one you get. - 14130

About the Author:

No comments: