I love my body – #1st Session
I’m not a guru, I can’t always read people’s minds yet I dare you! Admit it, you are among the so many people who don’t love their body. If you are among the small percentage who does, please share this wonderful experience with us! Yes, I can see you nodding. You disagree, you think you love your body because all this new age and spiritual information spreading around like viruses lately, told you that you MUST love yourself, your body included. And you feel you have to conform, as usual.
But let me ask you a few questions. How often do you take a long look in the mirror at yourself? How often do you contemplate your nakedness? Do you know how many beauty spots you have on your inner thigh? Do you put on moisturising cream with love, lingering on every inch of your skin? Do you discover, in wonder and excitement something new about your body, every day? Do you feed it with proper food? Are you having enough sleep? Do you make it run or exercise or dance or do any other activity it might enjoy? Do you listen to its voice? Count the ‘yes” and then do tell me you love your body.
Some of you may contradict me by showing off their high-priced clothes, a perfect manicure or a new hair cut. But is this really love for your body or just a gratification for your ego? When you chose comfy over striking, natural over glamorous, not smoking over smokomg-beacause-all-my-friends do, I’ll believe you! Until then, we all play the game of conformity and acceptance.
Don’t misunderstand me, I mean no judgement or scolding. After all, nobody teaches us to love our body, to see it as another perfect creation of the Universe. While we are maturing, we see it depicted as an object of lust, shame, manipulation, as some machine ( so perfectly created that it breathes and cures, if allowed, all by itself) doomed to get ill, decay and, finally, perish. How could we possibly love it?
But it’ possible, at least for me it is. The moment I decide to forget all the misconceptions and ideas I’ve been thought. And discover my body. Make friends with it. When I was a little girl, my body told me it wanted to dance. I heard it as a whisper because my parents’ voices were louder. Therefore, I ignored it and did those things they told me were appropriate for having a bright future. Years later, I said it was time to start listening to it and taking dance lessons. It was too late to become a ballerina at the Metropolitan but at I least I was going to be able to express myself through dance. I learned salsa and bachata. You can’t imagine how awkward and stiff my movements were in the beginning. My mind was in control – I was afraid I might fall off the rhythm, do something wrong, lack grace, become a laughing stock. After two months, I wasn’t able to follow a partner who would ask me to dance. And then, after two years of practising and dancing in clubs, all of sudden, I understood the secret. Learn the moves but let my body listen to the music, combine them and move. NO MIND CONTROL! I adore to dance by myself in my living-room, let my body move and explore new shines and styling combinations.
You should try it sometimes. It might help to put on a mask, same as wonderful Christina, my stage movement teacher, showed me today. Put on that mask (isn’t it funny this need to put on a mask so that you can be real self…) and dance. Or move your body like you never did before. I guarantee you, you’ll have a wonderful surprise. Do you remember when you were a child? You made all those movements and played and bubbled with imagination and nothing seemed impossible? Well, that’s the spirit!
And one more thing, before going away. How can love another person’s body or another person if you don’t love yourself and your body. How can you accept another being and open up if you don’t accept yourself ? Another great exercise we did today was to stand in pairs, one facing another, making eye contact and connecting. It was not easy, I admit but, on the other hand, connecting with another human being is so profoundly amazing.
