Category Archives: Fitness

Grace and Humility

I took a great yoga class night that got me thinking about the mind-body connection in a whole new way. The instructor (Heidi for those of you keeping track) kept asking us:

“What would it look like in your body if you fully opened yourself to grace and humility?”

That’s a pretty good question when you’re twisted into a pretzel and trying to keep your balance! But when I let my BODY answer it instead of my mind, I found the pose went a little farther, the stretch was a little deeper, the exhilaration was even greater.

Being open to grace makes me roll my shoulders back, makes me lift my face skyward, makes me breathe more fully. It is an expression of confidence –  that I’ll be taken care of, that everything I need is already there or will be provided. Being open to grace says “Here I am” and “I can do this” and “Bring it on.”

Conversely, being open to humility gets my ego out of the way; it makes me bow more deeply, makes me curl into myself, allows me to surrender. It’s an expression of gratitude – a reminder that I didn’t really earn any of the blessings I have – that each and every good thing – my health, my family, my career, even my productive morning or shiny new belonging – are gifts bestowed upon me that could just have easily gone to someone else. Being open to humility whispers “thank you” and  “i am grateful” and “i am blessed, blessed, so very very blessed.”

Holding those two thoughts in my head simultaneously, let alone getting my BODY to express BOTH of them is daunting! How do you express both seemingly contradictory ideas at the same time?

I think the answer lies in this amazing quote by Glennon Melton of Momastery. (If you’d like to read her whole post, it’s here.)

“Be confident because you are  a child of God. Be humble because everyone else is, too.”

Brilliant, right? I love the idea of having both confidence that grace will be extended to me and humility because that doesn’t make me more special than anyone else. If I had to express both of those things simultaneously in my body I would be balanced. I’d be firmly grounded yet uplifted. When a yoga instructor says “Ground down, reach out” this is what I imagine she means. Grounded in humility, uplifted by grace. And believe it or not, it’s one of the most natural and effortless yoga poses to hold. Imagine that.

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Alarming statistics

In her exceptional book,  I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t), Brene Brown, Ph.D. shares some alarming statistics. As she explores the role of social-community expectations of appearance on women today, she lays out these facts like a string of firecrackers ready to explode…

  • Approximately seven million girls and women suffer from an eating disorder.
  • Up to nineteen percent of college-aged women are bulimic.
  • Eating disorders are the third most common chronic illness among females.
  • The latest surveys show very young girls are going on diets because they think they are fat and unattractive. In one American survey, 80% of ten-year-old girls had already dieted at least once.
  • A research survey found that the single largest group of high school students considering or attempting suicide are girls who feel they are overweight.
  • Among women over eighteen looking at themselves in the mirror, research indicates that at least 80% are unhappy with what they see. Many will not even be seeing an accurate reflection; up to 80% of women overestimate their size. Increasing numbers of women with no weight problems or clinical psychological disorders look at themselves in the mirror and see ugliness and fat.
  • Since 1997 there has been a 465% increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures. Women had 10.7 million procedures, 90% of the total. The top 5 were: liposuction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgery, tummy tuck, and facelift. Americans spent just under $12.5 BILLION on cosmetic procedures in 2004.

Wow.

Take  a minute to soak all of that in. Go back and read those facts again, because they are FACTS, not propaganda, not distorted truths. The FACTS say that AT LEAST 80% OF US are unhappy with how we look when we look in the mirror. It starts young, with our 10-year-olds already on diets, and it spirals out of control quickly with our college students prone to anorexia and bulimia. It continues for too long with young adults, mothers and grandmothers still experiencing the effects of body hatred, disordered eating, and relentless self-criticism.

Chances are, you haven’t been spared from these issues. Statistically speaking, you are likely to recognize yourself in one or more of the alarming facts highlighted above. I certainly do.

I’m angry about the years I’ve wasted and watched others waste diverting energy from truly important contributions we could be making to focus instead on the size of our thighs or the roundness of our bellies. I’m tired of every magazine headline on the news stand promising the secret to thinner thighs or a flatter belly or a tighter rear end. I’m frustrated by the ads flooding the internet for diet pills and miracle cleanses and gimmicky exercise equipment. I KNOW we’re smarter than all of this, but I also know that we’re incredibly tempted by it in our desperation to “fix” ourselves once and for all.

I’d like to write more about this over the upcoming weeks and months….we need to break this cycle of madness that is driving our children into this dark hole right with us, and I’ll need your help. But for today, can you do just one thing? Can you listen for that voice of self-criticism that tells you that you’re not enough…and when she speaks, politely ask her to shut up? We have important things to do, and she’s in our way.

 

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Back to Basics

Even the healthiest among us get a little off track sometimes. Life gets busy. Sugar sneaks in. Caffeine is required. Workouts get skipped. Food choices get sloppy. Energy dips. Sleep suffers. It’s a downward spiral of poor choices and their consequences and it can feel impossible to stop.

But I promise you that it’s not. When this pattern starts to emerge in my own life, I’ve come to realize that a week or so of getting back to basics is all it takes to feel like myself again. If you catch the tailspin early enough, you can course correct before it gets out of control. I’m always the most inspired by my clients who have learned this principle – they don’t consider a setback to be permanent and they don’t let it blow up into a full scale disaster. When they notice they’ve veered a little off track for a little too long, they simply recommit to what they’ve learned and steer themselves back to feeling great.

I do it, too! In fact, just recently I noticed I had settled into some habits that were causing me to feel off kilter.  A week or so of taking my own advice and I felt like my best self again. So what’s the secret?

A good night’s sleep – More often than not one of the underlying causes of a backslide for me is that I’m tired. And rather than giving in to my need for sleep, I try to eat and caffeinate my way through it. Not good. Nothing beats sleep for setting you up to make good choices. When you’re tired, temptations can be overwhelming, but with rest you can keep your healthy brain in charge!

Water – I can sometimes get to 5PM and realize I’ve had not a drop of water cross my lips all day. Coffee and tea don’t count, my friends. Hydrate and watch yourself bloom. Keep a cup or bottle in the car or on your desk and commit to drinking it…staying hydrated even curbs sugar cravings!

Fruits and vegetables – These foods give you a life force that nothing else can. Add those fruits and veggies to every meal and snack and see how great you feel.

Plenty of Fiber  – Your digestive system needs fiber to regulate…and when it’s working well you’ll feel well. Trust me on this one. Fill up with fiber (from natural sources as much as you can – skip the “fiber added yogurt” and other manufactured concoctions) and let your body do the rest.

Move – Get those workouts in – even short ones count. Just move. Yoga. Walking. Even stretching. Rebuild the habit. Your muscles will thank you and so will your brain! They don’t call it a runner’s high for nothing…

There’s no shame in getting off track from time to time – life happens! But when you do, give these simple ideas a week or so to work their magic and see if you feel like yourself again. I’m betting you will!

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