Nourishing Flourishing

Health + Fitness

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Here is my basic philosophy, and one that I try to embody in non-virtual life, as well as present here…

What I Think Our Bodies Are…

I believe in being as healthy as possible: healthy in your heart and head, healthy in your soul, healthy in your attitudes, healthy in your relationship to the world, others, and self, and healthy in your body. I do not believe our bodies are just shells, containing the nougat-y goodness of our spirits.

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I believe our bodies are an integral part of who we are, and how I treat my body will affect my overall health as a person. Yes, our bodies will age and eventually we will all pass out of this life, but that does not change that we are stewards of our health now, and that how we use and treat our bodies is instrumental in how we relate to everything outside and inside ourselves. I have realized that taking care of myself is not selfish; if I want to be able to serve other people, I need to have the energy that fitness and health provide.

What Our Fitness Can Teach Us About Ourselves

I am convinced that our strength within is often shining through our strength physically, and vice versa. This is definitely not always true, but think it’s a helpful image, at least. Consider times you have persevered through something immensely painful physically, and felt even stronger emotionally and/or spiritually afterward. I also recall when I felt weak and helpless physically, and how this perception framed how I saw myself internally as well.

I used to be too weak (inside and out) to do the things I love. But I challenged myself. And I nourished myself. And with each reach, I grew, and I was totally in awe that I had actually done it. And now, I feel like my opportunities are pretty much limitless. I’ve never been healthier, in any respect, and I have never been more aware that we all have amazing potential to keep growing. What are you working on/wanting to work on to strengthen yourself?

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Balance.

Myth #1: Losing X Amount of Weight Will Make Me Deliriously Happy

I don’t believe that we should try to lose weight to be sexy (or anything like that). So many people (wrongly) believe that “If I just lose X pounds, I will be happy.” Pshh. I can tell you straight up – that’s an easy lie to believe, but it’s crap. I have been on this extreme of the spectrum, and even when I was at my thinnest (and not eating to stay that way), I was still deeply dissatisfied. That’s because I wanted something out of “weight loss” that I would never be able to get.

I hope that people will read this blog and understand that the goal of fitness and eating well is not being skinny or undernourished (in any area of life) – that is the total opposite of health. And being “skinny” by media’s standards will not add vibrancy to your life, or confidence to your thoughts, or goodness to your heart: it will, however, rob you of all those things.

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Hiking

Myth #2: “Accept” Your Situation, Because You Can’t Change It/It’s Just How It Is

However, I do not believe that the opposite of this “skinny” craziness is what is sometimes framed as “acceptance,” usually when telling obese, overweight, or otherwise unhealthy people that they should not strive for health because that’s “just how they are.” In a sense, of course I understand this backlash to the first insanity (hyper-skinny obsession). Yet this victimizes those who can choose to be motivated and empowered to take responsibility for their health. It totally robs persons in such situations of their own strengths and potential – it denies their right to flourish in a way that only physical health can cultivate.

If you are unhealthy in either of these respects, you do not have to settle. You aren’t “destined” to a life of exhaustion and depression because you are a victim (either of marketing ploys with anorexic models or of your past struggles with obesity, etc.), or because you haven’t yet found just how strong you are and can be (internally and externally). You are in control of your health choices. We don’t always get to choose our health (freak diseases, accidents). But we do get to be proactive, use and enjoy the benefits of health and fitness in the moment. Making one choice at a time becomes a lifestyle.

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