Stable Body, Stable Life

By Jennifer Kelleher

A strong, stable, and aligned physical body helps to create a clear mind and stable life. I invite you to pause, close your eyes, and repeat to yourself the following: “I am not the body, I am not even the mind.” Feel a sense of calm wash over you as you breathe, repeating this in your mind.

If I am not the body, and if I am not the mind, what am I? This is how I see it: I am spirit, loving presence, that bright light. The mind is my tool, magnifying whatever it focuses on. My body is my home. It is mine to live, love, share, express, and serve from. It is a beautiful opportunity and a responsibility to have a body. I must listen to, honor, and care for it. I must treat it with kindness and respect. My body is sacred, a temple, because it houses loving presence– the truth of what I am.

When the physical body is strong, stable, and aligned, without blocks or obstacles, the energy that you are can flow and work through it freely and easily. The lives that we walk through mirror our energy in the body. The more present and loving we are in the body, the more beautiful and aligned our life becomes. If the body is unbalanced, out of alignment, or in a state of dis-ease, energy can get stuck in or cut out of certain areas. Since life projects from the body, physical blocks or obstacles are reflected in our life.

Here are just a few tips to build a beautiful and sacred space for your spirit to work through:

1. At the gym, make sure you are performing exercises with proper alignment. This might mean initially using a lighter weight (strength) or decreasing your speed (cardio) so that you do not compromise your posture. It is highly preferable to do this and prioritize your alignment so that as you build muscle, you are doing it in a balanced and supportive way. For example, if you are performing a bent over row with hunched shoulders and a rounded spine, you are going to build a really strong hunchback. This will ultimately throw your body and energy off balance, creating more harm than good. Focus on form and over time steadily increase your weight selection and speed. Ask a certified trainer for feedback.
2. Tend to the painful or uncomfortable parts of your body or life with consistent love and attention. Instead of wishing they’d change, give them focused TLC. Breathe deeply and sweetly. Speak kindly to yourself, especially to the parts of you that need it most. Look at yourself lovingly in the mirror.
3. What materials are you building your body from? Focus on getting the necessary nutrients (think colorful, whole foods diet) to naturally crowd out the junk. Think about it as gorgeous nourishment, as opposed to restriction. I also prioritize clean water (reach out if you’re interested in learning about the filter I use), along with toxin-free home and body products (most of mine are essential-oil based; reach out for more info).
4. Incorporate core-centered exercises and use what you learn here in your other forms of physical activity and throughout your day. Pilates is a wonderful practice to bring physical and mental awareness to the core. Structured by nature, this modality uses a very specific breath to access deep core muscles and involves stabilizing the core with a neutral spine as you mobilize the extremities. Ocean Bliss Yoga offers Pilates every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Alex Venier is offering a Core & Pelvic Floor Workshop on Wednesday, September 13 at 7 p.m. Reach out or visit oceanblissyoga.net to learn more.
5. Invest in some private sessions. Whether with a certified physical trainer, yoga teacher, or Pilates instructor, working one-on-one with someone studied is a great way to make sure that you get the most out of your classes and efforts!