Let’s talk science for a moment. Proven fact: every emotion solicits hormones and neurotransmitters to evoke a host of chemical actions. The blood fills with these “chemical feelings” and every cell in the body “reads” the chemical message to determine their course of action.
Of course, the cells cannot extrapolate one kind of fear from another. The chemicals don’t tell them whether a predatory animal is attacking or whether there isn’t enough money in the bank to cover the mortgage payment. The message is the same. On the level of biochemical interaction, so is the response in the body.
And it’s a good response. It’s kept our species alive through the ages. It’s an appropriate response to a life-threatening situation. However, when anxiety/fear becomes an emotional norm–when angst of one form or another is the steady stream of chemicals flowing through our blood to direct cellular activity–then our bodies never get the opportunity to restore and regenerate. Never feel safe to take care of their needs. Inevitably, dis-ease results.
Cells and tissues and organs need to time regenerate themselves–to remove the waste byproducts of their metabolic actions and restore nutrients to support their activity. The chemicals traveling through the blood that send each cell the message to take care of maintenance are the chemicals released when we feel relaxed–at peace with ourselves–and at ease. Just as fear and anxiety and frustration and–well–any form of distress cause our bodies to react in a threatened, defensive mode, happiness and love and appreciation and all the feelings that evoke a sense of well-being communicate to our cells to take care of their needs.
In other words, Loving our bodies means feeling safe.
This is where we start. Before we can explore the specific systems of the body and how to assist our bodies to their highest level of health, we must know how to send the chemicals of love to every cell. We need to love our imperfections, love our less than ideal health, love our foibles and quirks–even love all of the feelings that are causing angst.
Loving our bodies means loving all of it. Whatever it is.
As we explore deeper into the specifics of making choices that love our bodies, I will come back to this again and again. The first step is to breathe deeply, and let each breath be an opportunity to nourish the cells–first with oxygen and hydrogen and nitrogen–and then with the caring that holds the body in love.
It is a process. First to recognize when any feeling is tracking toward the chemicals that induce “flight or fight” and then to listen with love to those feelings in a way that helps them transmute into a softer perception that brings with it a sense of safety. Meditation helps, and I especially recommend the Align Within set. Walking in Nature helps. Nature softens everything. Journaling and writing affirmations can help. And, always, breathing deep and slow helps.
Loving our bodies means feeling safe, first and foremost.
Thank you. I love you.
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Ahh, I love it when you talk science. What a great combination of science and spirituality, it makes so much sense when you explain it like this.
What I love is how divinity shows Herself through the miracle of our bodies. How cool is that?!
Sitting in the middle of a tornado warning this morning sparked a conversation with The Miss which falls along similar lines as your post. Fear is a real thing, but do we allow the fear to rule our lives? I have struggled with this (especially through my melanoma and skin cancer journey) and used to let it control me. This is a beautiful reminder that it not only hurts our souls, but potentially, our bodies. Thank you. <3
Blessings on your day, Mare,
When we learn to love our bodies the way we love our children–or when we learn to learn to love the child “within”, then we pay better attention to the inadvertent ways we cause distress to the body’s wellbeing.
Would that we were all as good to our bodies as you are to The Miss 😀