Awareness of Movement

Awareness changes how we physically move. As we become more fluid and resilient so do the mental, emotional and spiritual movements of our lives. - Emilie Conrad

Movement is relative. If you are where you are, and you are seeking well-being, then you are on a path of radiant health, which includes, but is not limited to becoming aware of the space you are taking up and the feeling of inhabiting your body. Stillness is the sensation of all things being calm and focused within yourself and your environment, but even within stillness, there is movement. Consider the breath. You do not have to teach yourself to breathe, nor do you have to cue the breath to come, but you do have to breathe to continue to grow and develop. Yet the breath is movement, the breath inspires movement in the body--circulation of the cells--which also triggers movement of the mind. As the lymph circulates, the cells are moved around, thoughts and feelings are put into motion and create emotion and the body becomes alive.

Would you agree with me that there are levels to aliveness? That vitality is not dependent upon how much time you spend on the computer, but how free you are to be inside the body. There are ways to become free, freer, than you currently are or than you ever thought possible. We have talked so far about letting go by allowing the lymphatic system to have a "party", as well as breathing deeply to move things further, now that the body is light, and hopefully the mind feels more at ease, you are given full permission to move forward in an upward and expansion motion.

Movement is not only upward and outward, but downward and inward as well. Imagine walking, you lift a leg, and then it has to come back to the ground. What does up, must come down, and move around and around and around until given permission to freely rest and rejuvenate. If you are struggling with some aspect of your health, you may have been moving, you most likely have moved so much that some days you just can't make it to the gym. Have you ever thought about listening to the voice within that does not want to workout? I can guarantee you there is a message there for you. Perhaps you are not doing the kind of exercise that inspires you. Perhaps you are doing someone else's vision for what you should do, and this causes a rebellion deep within yourself that tries to get in the way of you meeting your goals.

Exercise does not have to be going to the gym. Just as beneficial can be walking in the grass barefoot, where not only is the body in motion, but enhances circulation, encourages deep breathing and is rejuvenating to the body. How about taking a rest from overdoing your workout and undo the damage by letting go a bit in nature?
Nothing happens until something moves. -Albert Einstein

If you think about what goes up must come down, imagine this: for every action there is a reaction. So if you are trying to get buff and so ripping your muscles in the gym, there is a part of you that might be craving rest, and the body is so used to being stressed out by work, going to the gym, and the toxins that are surrounding us just by being alive in today's world, that you can't help but want to continue the stress cycle by overeating, or reaching for what is going to take your breath away.

Imagine exercise that is led by the body, and not by some magazine's idea of what you should do to lose weight or to rip up your abs. Imagine dancing, feeling free to allow the energy to circulate, the spirit and calling within to vibrate and release, and thereby harmonizing your inner world with the outer world. This sensation is available to you. You will know, after a moment of stillness, of a period of slowing down, what your body is craving. This may not be what you think you need to do to relax, or what your body needs to be in shape, or what your mind needs to be fit. But, imagine inhabiting the body to the fullest expression of your spirit. Does this include going to the gym? it might today. It might tomorrow. It might for this period of your life be giving your body exactly what it needs. But there is also a time for rejuvenation, and there are other options for fitness, other than high-powered electric machines to step upon to get you moving.

Give your mind a break by stepping out in nature. The fresh air will enable you to let go even further, and help your cells to circulate and heart to open. Just get moving, every day. Even a basic movement such as lifting your head towards the sky, by softening the neck and tongue and being mindful of your gaze is movement that the body requires to regenerate itself. You are moving enough if you are feeling how you move through your day. That does not have to be any more than what you are doing now. Trust that when you relax, get to know how it feels to inhabit the body, you will become aware of exactly what you need to do, how you need to be, to move forward into life. Like my dad says, "I follow my feet around." Try something new. Do not plan your workout routine. Allow your body to guide you there. Learn to listen and move from that place of inner stillness.

Relax more here

Radiant Health

I don't know about you, but health starts with me. I have to be centered in my self before I can get out their and do my work. I have learned this the hard way many times, and I am living testimony to how to use your own inner guide to heal yourself. I struggled with stress, over and undereating, depression, anxiety, and feeling confused for much of my life. Until I started practicing principles inherent in each of us as children, yet with time and trauma, we train ourselves to reside outside of our bodies, where we are not fully safe.

So I left my body at a young age, and decided I was not worthy of happiness or success. I went on a 12 year long journey exploring how not to eat, take care of myself, be happy and healthy. I struggled to feel strong, integrated, yet I kept seeking.
I know now what I didn't know then...what my body needs, how to give myself what I am looking for, and the art of meditation when I feel confused.

There are specific ways to find perfect health now, and if that feels overwhelming, then give yourself 24 hours.

Sleep. Always an option. I recommend sleeping when the lights go out, when the sun goes down. Making it a priority to go to sleep at a reasonable hour--10 pm, and certainly no later than 11pm. If you are reading this, you are most likely looking to feel better, and I guarantee you that making sleep a priority and giving yourself enough sleep in the optimal hours will enhance your radiant health more than anything. Your metabolism and hormones will love you for it, and your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual bodies will be able find balance and serenity when you sleep well.

Eat. That is not only when hungry. If you are struggling with your health, then more than likely you are disconnected from your true appestat (inner radar system for when to eat, how much to eat). Eat optimal amounts of protein and essential fatty acids. Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, and snacks in between, if you find yourself thinking about food or worried about food. Eat and get over it. Move forward with radiant energy and create a healthy and happy life.

Breathe. Easier said than done. Especialy if you are still alive, you are most likely still breathing. Learning to breathe deeply will change your life. Yoga can help with this. So can doing anything that relaxes you (and does not involve the internet or tv). Meditation can help, especially as you focus on your breath, and let go of anything else.

Love. Start with yourself. Give yourself the love that you are looking to find. Treat yourself as your own best friend. Cut ties with the relationships that are holding you back. Learn to open your heart, and do what it takes to keep it so. Try yoga. Try walking in nature. Drink water. Soothe your heart, relax your mind and fall in love with the life you are creating.

Deepak Chopra has a guide on creating Perfect Health, available here
Although we experience our bodies as solid, they are in fact more like fires that are constantly being consumed and renewed. We grow new stomach linings every five days, for instance. Our skin is new every five weeks. Each year, fully 98 percent of the total number of atoms in our bodies is replaced. Ayurveda gives us the tools to intervene at this quantum level, where we are being created anew each day. Ayurveda tells us that freedom from sickness depends on contacting our own awareness, bringing it into balance, and then extending that balance to the body.

Perfect Health provides a complete step-by-step program of mind body medicine tailored to individual needs. A quiz identifies the reader's mind body type: thin, restless Vata; enterprising, efficient Pitta; tranquil, steady Kapha; or any combination of these three. This body type becomes the basis for a specific Ayurvedic program of diet, stress reduction, neuromuscular integration, exercise, and daily routines. The result is a total plan, tailor-made for each individual, to reestablish the body's essential balance with nature; to strengthen the mind body connection; and to use the power of quantum healing to transcend the ordinary limitations of disease and aging--in short, for achieving Perfect Health.

Pray. You are living a prayer. If your life feels limiting, notice the conversations you are having with yourself. Do what it takes to be the blessing that you are to the world by going within, finding serenity and sharing from that place of inner stillness, receptivity and love. When you judge others, it is like drinking poison while waiting for the other person to die. Own your gifts and accept that we are all in this together. When you see someone who has what you don't want, trust that you can only see in them what is perhaps dormant in you. Integrate your shadow to own your radiance.

I am in a video available here by Debbie Ford, including Deepak Chopra and Dr. David Simon, which will guide you through the process of owning your shadow in order to discover the light within.


Keep coming back to learn more ways to create radiant health. Let me know what's working for you, and what you'd like to read about in learning about achieving radiant health.