Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Thank you body!

I just came home from Zumba. You can imagine, those that know me, that I would probably love Zumba. Well you would be CORRECT! I adore Zumba. I get to dance around and shake my hips! It is good exercise and I have a blast. While I was walking home, I was thinking about how much my body can do.
(Did you know that your hair moved so much during Zumba? I guess that is how you know you are doing right! ;) 

This, I would argue, is the most important facet of self-esteem development. Most of the time we talk to people about how bodies look, "you look so nice today. Your hair is pretty. You look like you have lost weight." We talk about our bodies like they are pieces of art work to display. We give compliments that drive this home by give praise when the body is specially decorated or dolled up, giving the impression that the body is of more value when it is pretty.  Your body is not a piece of art, it is an instrument that you use to do the things you love. 

I love my body because I love to dance. I love to shake my hips. I don't care about anyone else when the music is blasting and I am just moving to the rhythm.  I love my body because I like to swing on the swings (it takes a lot of effort to pump those legs!). I love my body because I love to swim. I love to feel sleek and smooth as I slide through the water. I love to laugh and make silly faces. I love that my body can move the muscles that allow me to accomplish both those tasks. I love my body because it can do so many things.


Stop looking in the mirror and criticizing your body about what it looks like, praise it for the manner in which it functions. Start thinking about why you love your body. Do you love to run (seriously bless you runners), bike, hike, skateboard, skip, dance, or whatever?

Have you ever thought about your cardiac muscle? These are the things that I think about in my spare time. Your heart muscle, unlike all other muscles in your body, can not stop. We take time to stretch and relax our skeletal muscles. When our arms are tired, we stop using them as much. The heart, however does not have that luxury. Your heart never stops, never takes a little rest, never gets to relax, and most of the time we don't even take great care of the heart. But that heart keeps on pumping. Even at night when the rest of your body can refresh and replenish your heart is still pumping away. It can not afford to stop because your heart loves you and doesn't want you to die. Your heart pumps about 25 liters minutes per minute! 25 LITERS!!!! At rest a normal heart rate is 120 beats per minute. That is about 120,000 beats per day. So if you live until you are 70, your heart beats about 3 billion times. Can we talk about 3 billion?!? That is crazy!

(I couldn't resist showing what the human heart looks like. Isn't it beautiful? For those that are concerned this is not a living heart. It is a human heart and has been injected with plastic to keep the structure intact.)

Your heart pumps blood to every organ in your body and when you exercise it sends the blood to the correct places to allow you to continue at that same workload for longer. It automatically knows that you will need less blood flow to the stomach and intestines and more to the skeletal muscles. This allows you to keep walking, running, skating, or shaking! Your body is AMAZING! Your body uses different fuel sources for different exercises. It doesn't just make energy in one manner it has many ways to make more energy so that you can function the way you want to. It has back up plans and back ups to the back up. Your body is built to last! Your body moves everyday with efficiency.
Most Americans take about 5,000 steps a day. That isn't anything special and I would suggest  aiming for about 7,000, but over the span of a life time your feet walk about 150 million steps. Depending on your stride you could be walking almost 90,000 miles. That is incredible! It is suggested that you get new shoes every 500 miles, but you don't get new feet. Those little guys just keep walking away.

Your body does so much! Thank your body for all that is does for. Don't tell your body that it isn't good enough, that is rude and ungrateful. Your body has been working hard for you for years and that is how you show your gratitude. No sir!

Stop feeling embarrassed by your body. Your body has only tried to help this whole time.

Everyday you are not dead in the ground...your body has performed a miracle for you.


Each day this week, I want you too look in the mirror and thank your body for one thing that it can do. Don't hate your fat, pimples, dimples, lumps, or bumps. Don't hate your body, because your body loves you! Return the favor and LOVE your body!