This is article 5 of 18 in the Spiritual Series, click > Table of Contents
Creating a balanced life has been a life-long struggle. For me, the physical always came last.
I used to think that spiritual, emotional, and mental development was the priority. But slowly I’ve learned that the health and vibrancy of physical determines my mental, emotional, and spiritual clarity.
Spiritual Beings Expressing Physically
By investing in my physical health, I strengthen all aspects of my being. How could it not? We are spiritual beings that have incarnated into physical bodies that think and feel.
Personally, I’ve found “the basics” to be very powerful. From my viewpoint, they are:
- getting daily low-impact exercise (my favorite is walking with some occasional jogging), stretching (incorporating the health benefits of yoga stretches),
- drinking a LOT of purified water, eating good food that has some life in it (and not feeding my sugar/carbohydrate addiction),
- getting enough sleep (and a power nap here and there),
- taking a day off each week (we work long hours on our many projects), practicing a useful posture,
- doing various forms of creative meditation, incorporating the benefits of deep breathing exercises,
- always be reading a good book (or two, or three, or…),
- and taking herbs and supplements that have tested as positive for my body.
What’s Love Got to do With It?
Depending on your orientation, your impression of my list above could range anywhere from “not enough” to “just right” to “that’s too much to do!”
All I wish to share is that I’ve been a slow learner in taking care of my physical self. I’ve been practicing these forms of self-care for about fifteen years now, and I’m never going to “arrive”!
Self-love through physical self-care is a life-long process for creating a balanced life.
If you’re really unhealthy and feeling stuck, I recommend you simply pick ONE thing such as the health benefits of yoga stretches, for instance. What you choose may be on my list above or not.
Trust your heart and pick one thing; one way to love yourself. If you’re willing, begin. When you “block it”, acknowledge what happened, let go of the past, and start again. Start with lots of small things. I love the saying:
“A lot of a little bit, is better than a little bit of a lot.”
What’s better, to floss your teeth for one whole day each year (which I also practice daily; yes, it’s a “practice”!) or to floss your teeth at least once per day? That’s a lot of little bit.
So, if you’re ready, and there’s always only now, pick one thing and begin. Remember not to do too much too soon. Take it easy. The key is to continue, not make overly aggressive goals, fail, and then quit.
For instance, if you choose a physical activity like yoga, don’t overdo it. Just take one day at a time. You can never fail at self-care as long as you keep going. And, as you keep going, you’ll begin to enjoy yourself. As you have fun with the self-love of improving your health and vitality, you’ll naturally want to practice new types of self-care. Then you will be on your way to creating a balanced life. Pretty cool, huh?
By Kirk
If you enjoyed this article, Alana answer’s a heartfelt question on creating life balance that you can read or listen to.
To view the next post in this series, click > Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking: A Guided Self Meditation
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