Fall in love with your body.

Way too often, I hear from my students: “I don’t really like my body; I feel fat, clumsy, not looking young anymore.” If I ask why, the answer is something like this: “I used to be able to run fast like a rabbit, do 100 pushups, my flexibility was terrific……not anymore … because my body is not like it was a while ago.” In all fairness, it is not the reason.

Granted, the body might have extra fat, or be a bit clumsy, and maybe even not young anymore. However, all these cannot be blamed for the loss of physical supremacy you once had. It is rather the second, which caused the first.

How would we fall in love with our own body again? There are two ways, one is right, another is different.

Solution 1.

Stop eating too much. Stop eating junk food. Stop drinking with your friends. Stop heaving friends …. who drink too much. Hit some cardio and weights. Slim down. Done. The body looks much better! We love it!

A year later …… I DO NOT LIKE MY BODY!

Again? But it hasn’t changed much! Your weight is still within the norm, you are still physically active. Are you paranoid? No no no, of course you are not. Here is the reason why you are not so happy even though you, actually really truly, look good.

Picture a situation. You got a brand new cheap TOYOTA. It does its job fine. You are satisfied. You like it…low maintenance, less gas. Great. Five years later, the TOYOTA is still good, still does its job, still the same (they are good reliable cars). BUT! You are over it. You don’t like it anymore. You want something new, something brand new! (they call it “Consumerism.”?). You went and got a new car. You are satisfied. You like it…low maintenance, less gas. Great. Five years later…… We’ve all been there.

No matter how shiny and gorgeous something (somebody?) is, we are prone to look for something (somebody?) better…..always…. unless …

Solution 2.

Don’t go crazy about changing your diet. Keep drinking in moderation. Keep your friends …the better ones. There is a different solution. 

Picture a situation. You got a brand new cheap TOYOTA. It does its job fine. You are satisfied. You like it…low maintenance, less gas. Great. Five years later, the TOYOTA is still good, still does its job, still the same (they are good reliable cars). AND! Two years earlier, you proposed/were proposed in this car …. and even started a family … in the same car. You also retrofitted the car - put a better stereo, navigation, good rims…. new seat covers.

Now this car has a meaning for you and functionally does much more than it used to. Would you get rid of it with easy? I don’t think so. The car brings good memories and quite well equipped. You invested extra money and effort into it. It has value for you now. However, from outside, it is still pretty much the same car as it was five years ago … and … you LOVE IT!

The point.

Expand your body’s functionality. Couldn’t do a handstand? Get it. L-sit? Get it. Summersault? Get it. Russian split, muscle-up, front lever, back lever, frog stand. GET THEM ALL! I guarantee, after you have gotten your first new skill - a handstand, let’s say - you will be proud of yourself. It will give you a sense of accomplishment. The amount of work you put into it will bring you a new personal value to your mental body image. The second skill you get will feed the fire of the first. And so on. You will never be looking at your body in the same gloomy way again.

Don’t believe me? Open your Instagram. Search for #handstand. See those people of different shapes and forms around the globe proudly posting their handstands? They don’t care about the correctness of the position, etc. - they are proud of what they have achieved. It fuels their enthusiasm. They want to get more. They want to improve. They are not too concerned about their bodies. They are too busy dwelling on their success and dreaming about their further development. They are happy with their bodies.

Unexpected benefits.

Oh, and btw, those new skills you will be trying to get. They are a lot of work. Nothing comes easy in life. But that work, along with the skills, will bring you a new transformed look. It will make the body slimmer, more flexible, better coordinated with a greater balance. Not to mention better strength, stamina, and mobility. Because your body alway accommodates your purpose.

You sit at the desk the whole day - please, here is an extra cushioning in your gluteus maximus (the ass) for better comfort. You learn handstands - here is extra shoulder strength, stamina, flexibility, mobility, coordination and balance….and less fat to make it easier (of course it is not really how it works … but close enough). 

How you look does not define what you can you do and how you feel. It is WHAT YOU CAN DO DEFINES HOW YOU LOOK AND FEEL!

Side effects.

WARNING! Once you started training toward the skills - it is hard to stop. It is highly addictive. The more progress you get, the less your chances are to quit. Discretion required.

Good luck everyone!

“A person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it”

Chinese proverb.