How many times have you looked in the mirror and criticized something about your body and wished it looked different?  I really wish my hips weren’t so broad…I would look really hot if I lost 10 pounds….God I wish my nose wasn’t so crooked, I’m really gonna get that lipo done soon…  We are our own worst critics when it comes to our bodies!  Seriously, if you knew how hard I was on myself and my body you would call me a masochist!  We beat ourselves up everyday - wishing we looked like Naomi Campbell or George Clooney - when in reality, there is no way we’d ever look like them - no matter how hard we tried!!  Honestly, like no chance.

I know what you’re thinking - whats wrong with wanting to look pretty?   Nothing, except that prettiness is in the eye of the beholder.  What may appear to be a flaw to you maybe a sign of beauty for someone else.  And here’s another thing - the more we beat ourselves up and focus on how much better we’d look if that diet actually worked, the farther we get away from our bodies.  We alienate, disassociate, become bitter, hate and detach from our bodies.  We begin to view our bodies as a problem, a liability.  We lose touch with our bodies, continually wishing we had someone else’s, anybody elses’ body, but our own.

In doing so, here’s what happens - we forget who we are.  We start living in the past, in the future, anywhere but the here and now.  Putting life on pause while you shed those last stubborn five pounds.  Staying in instead of going out because you don’t have the right clothes.  Not speaking your mind in the world because you’re self-conscious.  Slowly, life becomes less exciting, less alive, less fun.  You find yourself living in a box of what ifs, one day, if only, and I wish.

Here’s the good news - it doesnt have to be that way!  Our bodies are amazing, unique, and extraordinary!  Not only are they the most unique living, breathing, feeling, sensing creations on the planet, but they also hold a lot of wisdom and intelligence.  Our bodies are the result of thousands of years of evolution and refinement - and our DNA holds all that information and more.  The emotional/intuitive mechanism that is inherent in the human body is what makes us stand out from the rest of the species.  Instead of putting it down, squashing it till it no longer speaks to us, we need to celebrate and tune in to our bodies!

I challenge you to get up this week and move your BODY!  And I dont mean go to the gym either.  Actually get inside, and do what it takes to feel alive.  Stretch, dance, meditate, take a walk, do whatever speaks to you.  Put on a piece of music that you love and start moving.  And as you shake that booty, tune in and listen to what your body is telling you.  It might take a while to hear what it has to say, but trust me, its got a message in there for you. All you have to do is move and listen.