In our society we’ve been taught to ignore our body’s’ feelings about all sorts of things – eating, sex, and especially exercise.
This philosophy is based on outdated paternalistic notions and false assumptions about how women should live their lives and which strategies are most effective for controlling weight and sustaining healthy lives.
Ignoring our body’s messages to follow an externally mandated plan is becoming as passé as snail mail is becoming in our instantly connected world!
Think text messaging.
Through technological advancements we easily receive quick comments from friends anywhere. We are so tuned into our electronic media, that our PDAs, ipods, and thinkpads are almost appendages. Almost.
We prioritize being in constant contact with others but tend to ignore the instantaneous communications, biolextical messaging, that our own bodies send us! Noodle on that for a moment…..
We value what others have to say more than we value what our bodies have to tell us.
Yet by ignoring our bodies instant messaging we alienate ourselves from our lives. It’s very hard to make good decisions if we are disconnected from and don’t tune into our physical selves.
I agree with Geneen Roth, author of Women Food and God, belief that inquiry into what our bodies feel, instead of ignoring them as we’ve been taught to do, is a holy act that goes beyond overcoming emotional eating, sedentary lives, and weight control – it actually frees us and permits us to live our lives fully.
By re-connecting to our bodies, and their unique desires and needs, we not only affirm ourselves, we discover a deep well of motivation to move and care for our whole selves.
Our bodies communicate with us all of the time. But it’s up to us to check our biolextical messaging.
