Listen to Your Body…And Then Do What It Says!

Wow! It’s been quite the week! Thanks to everyone who commented in all the various spaces and places about my last blog post. Kali is definitely a controversial teacher!

I’ve made a lot of choices this week, mostly surrounding my health and my physical body.  Overall, I’m pretty healthy. A little overweight, as are most North Americans, and, being a woman, I have some body issues (thank you, modern media).

Earlier this year I made a goal to do some sort of physical exercise daily.  I did really well for about three and a half months.  Then I started feeling stressed, and like I had more to do than time to do it in.  And my good habits fell by the wayside.

This week the urge to be more physically active has been extremely powerful. And suddenly, without consciously making the effort, I have been active every day this week.  The strongest desire has been to dance, and I feel that Kali is the one urging me in that direction.

Moving your body is an excellent way to release stuck energy in your system, and not just physical energy. Relating this to Kali, the stuck or stagnant energy is my demons.  Kali was created to destroy a demon that none of the other Gods could rout. Yet she is also known as the One that gives birth to All. To make room for new things to come into your life, you must get rid of what no longer serves you.

Which brings me back to listening to my body.  The extra weight I have been carrying around no longer serves me. To have the energy to do all the things I want to do in the near future, I need to stop carrying extra around with me, mentally and physically.

Besides exercising more, I knew that I need to be more conscious of what I eat.  My biggest food demons are sugar and potato chips. I’ve said for a long time that my one addiction was sugar, and of all the addictions I could choose from, it’s really not that bad. Well, my body has been telling me differently lately. If I really want to be honest, it’s been telling me for a long time, and I haven’t been ignoring it.

So I read a little about overcoming sugar addiction on the net.  One of the sites I visited said that saying I am addicted to sugar is a way of giving up my power.  It says that sugar has power over me. Well, that was just the thing to motivate me to substantially cut back on the amount of sugar I consume (to clarify, I am talking about refined sugars, not natural sugars like raw fruit).

I haven’t given it up completely. There is sugar in the salad dressing I have on my lunch. And I have had dessert (other than fruit) once or twice this week. And I have managed to completely cut out my mid-afternoon candy fix.  All in just one week.

It’s amazing the tricks my mind will play to try to get me to stumble. For example, on Saturday I started thinking that it would be nice to have some chips with my lunch. Mmmmm, Miss Vickie’s Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar… I thought about how good I had been all week – no chips and no candy, and surely having chips this one day wouldn’t hurt.

I sat in my car before heading in to work, and checked in with my body. Chips? NO! Fresh veggies? Yes! Fruit? Yes! Chips? NO! Tea with stevia? Yes. Salt and vinegar chips? NO! I really tried to trick my body into wanting the chips. It didn’t work.

And that’s when I remembered a friend’s advice. “Listen to your body. And then do what it says!” I had to repeat that over in my head a few times. That “do what it says” part is really the more challenging part of that advice. I did go straight into work, though, without going to the store to buy chips.

I was really proud of myself! Each time I decided that I was more powerful than my cravings was a win that I celebrated inside, and made it that much easier to ride out the next craving. And I feel that as I let go of old habits and create the new habit of really tuning in to my body, I am also opening up to receive Divine guidance in other areas of my life.

Here’s some inspiration for you to listen to your body:

And more from my latest favorite artist to get up and dance!

Blessings,
Mary