Day 17- Body Appreciation

As I was working-out tonight I went into the zone. I know this is different for everyone, my experience is truly magical. I love the feeling of connection. It all comes together so perfectly for me. Since moving to Cali I haven’t joined a gym, instead I choose to be out in nature. I run hills, hike a lot and on the days when I feel like lifting I usually find a park with some bars to do pull-ups on, along with push ups in the grass. There is something about that feeling of grass under me and the sun beating down…..or the darkness of the night. I always have my ipod on and have some extremely fast moving, pop music blaring.

Tonight while I was jumping rope I was thinking back to my days of jumping rope in the high school gym for basketball practice. I hated jumping rope in high school. I could make you a laundry list of everything that was going wrong with my body in high school. Besides being over weight, I had tendentious in my knees, athletes asthma, wore glasses for a while, migraines, allergies, sprained both ankles severely more times than I can remember, ect.

That was almost 12 years ago. What a difference a decade can make. I am now preparing for a marathon in April 09. I ran the half marathon in Jan 07. I am in the best shape of my life right now. For my birthday this past April I flew to a Carribean island and went on an adventure tour. One day I hiked mountains in extreme conditions for over 6 hours straight. And by the next morning I was up at 7 am to practice yoga.

The thing I am most appreciative of is the fact that I can be on my feet for 10+ hours at work, come home and go for an hour run. Tendentious is gone, eyes corrected themselves, asthma gone, no migraines, allergies gone, ankles seem healed and I feel amazing.

I read once that if you can free your mind the body will follow. I will say that as much of the resistance in my life is released I notice how much easier my days are. I seem to flow through my days and wake up easily. I love how my body perfectly uses everything I put in it. And I love paying attention to how foods make me feel. The Huna tradition in Hawaii suggest that you pay attention to anything that stimulates you into a feeling that is not good and remove it from your life. I started doing this with food almost 2 years ago and it has changed my life. No need for a diet if you pay attention to how foods make you feel. You will know what to remove.

I am grateful for this good feeling body and while I feel it is an ever changing thing I am experiencing much joy in it now.

Much Love
9-3-8