Yes, I am the creator of Body Bonding!

Yes, I LOVE my body!

So what is the big secret?

I don’t jump out of bed everyday feeling this way!

I still have to make the steps toward Body Bonding and some days are easier than others.

Sure, some days I am feeling the love from my toes to my nose, other days maybe more of a struggle.

What I do is to look for the signs of that struggle before they arrive. We all know that Body Bonding is not about just loving the outside; it’s about total body union. And what that does for you is it helps you feel body excellent and full of inner joy. 

A joy body is a happy body and that makes for a cheerful human!

Let’s learn to look for the signs ahead of time, so we can head it off at the pass.

Comedian Bill Engvall says “Here is your sign!”

I say “Here is your Body Bonding sign!”  

Yield:

Think about what you do when you first open your eyes to a new day.  Does the life to-do list start running through your thoughts?  Do you jump up after the alarm goes off for the 10^th time, just to start your day running from one thing to another?  This is how many of us start our day, every day.  Try yielding in to your day.  Allow your body to just lie on that bed for a few minutes before your brain starts getting carried away. Take a few deep breaths, feel your body wake up slowly, send a loving message to it so you can start your Body Bonding day right. Gratitude for all your body will do for you on the day ahead is a wonderful way to start your day on a joy filled foot. 

Stop:

What is it that sends your body in a tail spin?  We all know ahead of time what is going to send our body over the deep end, right?  For some of us it may be a lack of tranquil rest that can make a day hard to get through. With others it may be work related stress that is putting a large toll on our body relationship. I have had many people tell me “the pool or a beach” can send them reeling in body anxiety.

Okay, I’m sure many of us can relate to bikini or swim suit stress! So the point here is we know when a body related stress is going to come up. 

So stop already!! 

Stop…that’s right you heard me STOP!  How many times did your mom or grandma tell you to “Stop and smell the roses?”  Well guess what you have to stop for a minute from time to time for your body too. Stop and pull yourself together before you take a BIG scary step. You heard me I said, scary! Its okay, to feel scared some times. Fear is just a “sign” that you need to look closer at something. Fear is when your body is sending you the message to stop, reflect and take the next step with care. Stop and think about the situation… What could you do to better ready your body for this situation?  Will an extra hour of sleep work?  Maybe that stress at work you are feeling because you are being too hard on yourself. Maybe you are putting yourself in stress mode, when you don’t really have anything to worry about. Maybe just stopping and spending time in gratitude around your career will bring you more body peace.  

I have a daughter that is a beauty queen; I can say this being her mom and all! (Really, mom or no mom she is a very pretty girl) She is in her 20’s and like most gals her age feels a bit reluctant to scoop on her bathing suit and run down the beach. So here is what she does, she finds a bathing suit that makes her feel good, buys a cute little wrap and then runs down the beach. As the Body Bonding mom, sure I can’t wait for the day that she throws that wrap out to the waves and skips down the beach in total body joy. But here is what she did. She “stopped” and she found a way to get her body to the beach. She stepped through the fear and said, life is a beach and I’m going to have fun. She did not let her fear keep her home; she did not let the scary body thoughts over take what she wants to do with her body.  She made a plan and got out and had a great time. When she learns better Body Bonding skills, in the future, the wrap will fall.

 Perfect transition to our next sign…

Merge:

To lessen the days of body struggle we need to merge in more days of Body Bonding.  

It’s just that simple!

  If it’s just that simple, why do we still struggle?

Because, we do two things; we let life get in the way and we don’t put our body relationship first.  Stop and put your body relationship first, yield in to a better day every day by starting your day out with body gratitude and mindfully merge more Body Bonding in to your day.   Stop and smell the roses; enjoy special moment just your body and you. Secondly, when your body throws up a sign, don’t just keep moving on, make a positive body plan to move forward. 

Soon you too will be running down the beach of life in total body bliss.

 Until next time…

You are Loved!

Cynthia

Right Time Gratitude

Being in the right place at the right time is something that we often wish for, whether it is hoping you are buying the right Lotto ticket at the perfect place, meeting your true love; just because you just happen to be in the park the same day and at the same time or maybe it’s as small as bumping in to an old friend at a your local Starbucks.

Many times we feel lucky that these and other perfect timely moments happen to us and sometimes they do!

But what if they don’t?

Then what?

What I find often is people are waiting for this to happen with their personal body relationship. We all have said or heard these statements. Oh, I will love my body more when I lose weight, eat healthier, after the holidays, when I will feel better, when I change my relationship or find my perfect partner. In my case I said this over and over for 15 years. From the age of 16 until I was 31! Yikes, that’s a long time!  Why because I was waiting for my reconstructive surgery to repair my birth defect. That’s right I waited 15 years to start the process of loving my body.  Well guess what after waiting 15 long agonizing years and then getting my reconstruction surgery I did not wake up and say “Wow, I just love my body now” or “Boy, I feel so much more connected to my body now.” I felt a little better, but still had the same challenge.

 Why?  

Because I had been waiting for something to happen, waiting for the right time, waiting for a BIG change. What I did not know then that I know now is I was waiting for a day that was never going to come.

I was waiting for, the right future time.  

The right time is in this moment, that’s right in this perfect moment as your reading this email. Not tomorrow, not next week or next year!

But, how do we move in to this tender body connection/loving time?  It’s as simple as moving to a place of gratitude.  

A place of deep body gratitude…

I’m often asked, “How can you be so thankful for your body?” My response, “What other choice do I have?” I don’t know of a body trade in program, do you?  This body is the one I have been given and it works hard for me every day, loving me and running its little buns off just to keep me moving and breathing. Not to mention the other million things it does every day that I don’t even know about.   

Body gratitude is as easy as making a decision to start the loving self appreciation now. It’s all about that loving connection we long for, the emotion of calm personal body satisfaction. When this new wave of caring light washes over your body and self you; hold your head higher, you walk with a skip of pure inner joy. When your inner gratitude game is running well the outer body devotion just falls in to place. Because, you are aligned with each other and are walking in perfect body harmony.

Sound great?

Do you want more body gratitude for yourself?

Great let’s just do it “Right Now”!

 Over this next week, keep yourself tuned in to the thoughts and feelings you are carrying with you that keep you stuck in the old thinking of waiting for the right time and just remember that you don’t need to wait until the right time, now is the right time.

Next week we will start the two EASY Body Bonding steps to make Body Gratitude a daily part of your life.

Nothing like getting ready for a little thankfulness, right before the Thanksgiving holiday, right?

Until then get yourself in “The Right Time Body Gratitude”, NOW!!

Before I sign off  Stop Now and just say……      

• Create a list of all the things your body lets you do. Read it and add to it often.

• Become aware of what your body can do each day. Remember it is the instrument of your life, not just an ornament.

• Walk with your head held high, supported by pride and confidence in yourself as a person.

• Don’t let your weight or shape keep you from activities that you enjoy.

• Wear comfortable clothes that you like, that express your personal style, and that feel good to your body. Get out there and have some fun!

• Count your blessings, not your blemishes.

• Think about all the things you could accomplish with the time and energy you currently spend
• worrying about your body and appearance. Try one!

• Be your body’s friend and supporter, not its enemy.

• Every morning when you wake up, thank your body for resting and rejuvenating itself so you can enjoy the day.

• Find a method of exercise that you enjoy and do it regularly. Don’t exercise to lose weight or to fight your body. Do it to make your body healthy and strong and because it makes you feel good.
• Exercise for the Three F’s: Fun, Fitness, and Friendship.

• Think back to a time in your life when you felt good about your body. Tell yourself you can feel like that again, even in this body at this age.

• Keep a list of 10 positive things about yourself–without mentioning your appearance. Add to it!
• Put a sign on each of your mirrors saying, “I’m beautiful inside and out.”

• Start right now.