Are You Asking Your Body for Too Much?

We put so much responsibility on our body.  Have you ever really thought about what it takes on?

Every insult, external and internal, every bad day, bad mood, outburst of anger, all the times you feel fear, all the sadness that there wasn't time to feel, the scary movies, the terrible news stories, that argument with your mom, the fight with your best friend, the time you looked in the mirror and said the image there was ugly, or unworthy….not to mention the days you drank a coke and had a cupcake for lunch, or the really crappy truck stop coffee, or the days you never slept or drank any water.

All those things are currently stored in your organs...seriously.

The other day, While getting an abdominal therapeutic massage, I laid there, breathing through the discomfort, imagining my organs,  saying hi to each one as the therapist opened up the restrictions, smiling into them, thanking them, and witnessing just how much pain was in these small places...small intestine, the attachments over my kidney, the area around my belly button.

As they released, I let go into loving my belly, thinking about the number of times I had held it in in shame, or shoved it rudely into a too tight pair of pants, even though I couldn't breathe or move.

And I offered an apology, for all the missed chances to be in love with my belly, my organs, my body instead of in battle with it.

I did the same thing with my liver and all the toxins it encounters, all the emotions I have stuffed into it over time, again, saying I love you, and thank you and expressing gratitude. 

Each organ, system by system, breathing in, letting go and loving for their service, for the moments of ignorance as I ignored their needs, as I shoved toxicity and emotion into them and assumed their function was absolute.

How many times have you ever sat with your liver? Really just honored it, wondered at it, let amazement fill you for its power and grace, its service and selfless attention to your needs? 

Isn’t it funny? We thank our friends, thank our spouse, thank our kids, but when do we thank our organs? Heck, when was the last time you thought about a part of your body other than to worry or be upset with it?

Imagine how those simple relationships change if we change our way we relate to these parts...would you think being kind to your liver enhances its functions? Would you imagine being in collusion with your intestines means they do a better job of digestion?

You would be right!

This is a corner piece of healing, among the needed modifications to food and supporting the restoration of the most taxed and fatigued and damaged organ systems, we also need to cultivate our relationship to the very systems we seek to enhance, and the start is just deciding to love, speak to and appreciate the organs we have as they are, the skin we have as it is, the fat we have as it is, before we can expect it to change.

This is one of the most fun parts of what I get to do with my clients, opening up the conversation within them and their body and partnering all the “health” activities we do within this context.

So, today, what organ will you give love to? Which part of you needs some gratitude? What system can you wonder at?