I am sorry for neglecting your needs for large periods of my life. I am sorry for seeing you merely as an instrument that should always work in accordance with my needs and wishes. I am sorry for always pushing you over your boundaries, even when you scream at me for crossing them. I am sorry for getting mad at you for refusing to do something after you tried to get my attention in any possible way. I am sorry for the times I tried to keep you awake for several days in a row with all sorts of drugs mixed up in you. I am sorry for shouting and crying at you for falling sick when you were simply trying to protect me from myself. I am sorry that I proclaimed you worthless when you could not get in poses during Yoga class. I am sorry for calling you fat or ugly when you are the best possible version of yourself. I am sorry for not seeing you the way you are but always wishing you to be something you are not.

Listen to your body whispers

One day in Yoga class I was struggling a lot to get in a certain pose, which was very hard on my body because my back was aching a lot. I tried to ignore the aching and to push through it, because unconsciously I wanted to get in the perfect pose and not to fail. At that moment my Yoga teacher told me to love my body. At that moment it struck me: I realized that I have never loved my body. I saw my body as a tool that should always obey my always challenging needs. That realization was an enormous eye-opener for me because it did not only open the gates to a healthier life by recognizing my body’s needs but also to a whole new way of self love.

I want to befriend my body

I decided I want to befriend my body. Moreover, I want to be best friends with my body. Because I want to recognize the signals my body gives me. Most people just like specific parts of their body: their hair, nose, freckles, beard, and so on. And as soon as any part of our body stops working the way we want it to work we get mad at it for that. Shouldn’t we have more compassion for our body? Shouldn’t we unconditionally love our body and listen to the signals it gives us?

Your body signals

Just think about this for a moment. Imagine yourself laying in the sun. You feel the warmth of the sunrays on your skin, which makes you not only consciously aware of the warmth but your body will also unconsciously create sweat to cool off. Your body signals to you through your brain that it’s time to look for some shade. This thought can make you consciously send signals to your brain to move your feet, arms and legs to walk yourself to the fridge to get a cold drink. During all those conscious and unconsciously actions, related to a specific situation your body will also perform its regular functioning: your liver is cleaning your blood, your lungs are breathing in air, your blood is transporting all sorts of necessary substances through your body, your hair is growing, your skin cells are renewing, at every given moment 300 million body cells die to be immediately replaced and during all that you are mentally able to not only think of a groceries list but also to remember that your aunt still has to return your computer to you and understand quantum physics while walking around.

A miracle that keeps you alive everyday

How insane and extraordinary is that? If you look at your body like this it is an exquisite functioning miracle. A miracle that keeps you alive everyday and even signals you when you should alter your behavior because it is damaging the body. How could you ever get mad at your body for doing that? Besides this miraculous way of functioning and signaling of your body, your body also carries a uniqueness in it. You are unique, no one in the world has a body like you. No one has freckles in the same spots you do, has your specific voice or the exact same hair. But you are also part of bigger things. Not only are you part of your family, friends, ethnicity, nationality but you are also part of the universe. You, in your uniqueness, are part of the whole universe. You are the universe.

Treat your body with compassion

To accept your body the way it is and listen to it carefully, you should treat your body with compassion. To have peace of mind in general, compassion is essential. Compassion for the world, people around you, your biggest enemy and even your fears. True compassion starts with yourself, if you can’t show compassion to yourself it’s even harder to show it to others. The thing is, you get good at what you practice. We as humans are extremely good at cultivating our fears, objects of anger or jealousy, etcetera. But we don’t put enough effort in the good and positive things. Every being, every moment, everything that happens to you, you should treat it with compassion and kindness. We should never withhold kindness, love and gratitude to specific people or situations just because we don’t approve of the way life turns out. Be where or how you are, not where you think you should be. Be even grateful for anything bad, negative or imperfect: equanimity, having love and compassion for every part of life and by trusting in the flow of life. The same goes for the way you treat our body.

Don‘t get mad at it for being sick

You get mad at it for being sick, tired or not living up to the crazy modern beauty standards. Try to be curious when it comes to your body. Why is my back aching in that specific spot, why am I constipated, why do I feel so tired: what is my body trying to say to me with this headache? Treat your body with compassion, love and respect. It’s not here to tease you or to be your enemy but to be your best friend. You are beyond blessed to have the body that you have at this moment in your life, at the place where you are and to know what you know.

These things are normal for you so sometimes they can be overlooked. Let yourself remember your blessings more often, so your heart can be filled with gratitude for your body in her exquisite and perfect functioning.

Look at your body, and whisper there is no home like you are.