New Year, New Healthy Attitude

Ten years ago I started doing yoga in the hopes of reconnecting with my body in a more friendly way. At least that is what I told everyone. Secretly I wanted what I called a “yoga butt.” You know those tight little bottoms that seem to defy age and gravity?

It’s ten years later, and I never obtained one of those yoga butts. I did get something far more valuable. I found peace with my body. I lovingly accept what my body looks like and what it can and cannot do or be.

Getting to this place happened over time. I learned from some amazing yoga instructors that honoring your body as a gift and not a curse is a choice. I am so grateful to the yogis who helped me learn this powerful lesson.

I think, as moms, we are particularly hard on ourselves. Most of us have altered body shapes either from pregnancy or the way our life changed when our schedule stopped revolving around just ourselves. Yet we demand unrealistic results from a body that is already giving so much.

I realize this is a time that many people make resolutions, especially about health. I don’t believe in resolutions, but if one was to be made about your body, why not make it about your relationship to your body?

What if this was the year you accepted your body exactly as it was with love? What if anything you put in your body or did with your body had the goal of moving it toward greater health, rather than a different size either in your clothes or on your scale? What if the first thing you did when you got up in the morning was to say “thank you” for all the places your body takes you and what it accomplishes in a single day?

Wow! Could you imagine what would happen if we all did that every day? 

What about you? Do you have any resolutions your making around your health or body this year? Share it in the comments below!