Self-care starts from within. We need to fall in love with our body first and treat it from a place of love.
I like to use examples to create a visual for those who come to me for help. It’s like caring for a pet. If there is no love for a pet, no amount of effort and money spent on them will make them happy. If we don’t come from a place of love, we won’t be attuned to their needs and, as such, address any concerns they might have. Conversely, if we love a pet, we’ll listen to them and give them what they want, not always what we think they want.
Same with our bodies. We might think intense workout could be good for it, and so is dieting. But if we come from a place of love, and start listening to our bodies, they might tell us that they want to have an 8 hour sleep instead and a nice nutritious meal.
When we ignore the signals, that’s when it begins to break down, we get sick.
Stress is a very strong signal and is extremely prevalent these days. A glass of wine might do the trick for a few hours but it won’t rid our body of the associated symptoms.
We’ll need to address our lifestyle and find the source of stress. That’s how true change will happen.
Ultimately it all leads back to self-love, the foundation of any life-changing transformation (read my post on self-love). When we truly love ourselves, we’ll make choices that are aligned with our highest good. We’ll intuitively choose the right exercise and diet for our body. We’ll listen and hear what our body truly needs.
It just happens that our body communicates with us in a very obvious way. Anything out of alignment will manifest in a physical discomfort or illness. It will tell us that something needs to be addressed, change needs to happen.
Self-Love will help us listen and act on what needs to happen. It won’t be a quick fix (like a glass of wine), it might take time and strength to be able to face that change is necessary. However, the reward is a healthy and strong body.