Come to your Body with a Spirit of Gratitude…. (the #PSPfit journey continues)

I stand in the mirror and put my hands on my ribcage. Then I close my eyes and let my hands travel down my midsection, touching and feeling my stomach and love handles. If only I could get rid of this… I think to myself. I jiggle my stomach a little, pushing my waist in from every angle, imagining my body shape if I didn’t have such a large midsection.

I have a habit of picking my body apart:

I love my legs, but I hate my inner thighs…

I love my hips but my butt is too flat…

I’d keep my jiggly arms if I could just get rid of my back fat….

Going over my body with an imaginary eraser is a regular practice of mine. Does it change anything? No. But the act is comforting, like curling up in a my favorite sweater. I never thought anything of my habit until I took a yoga class the other week. As the class started and we began to center ourselves, the yoga instructor said “Come to your body with a spirit of gratitude…”

Maybe it was the deep breaths bringing oxygen to my brain properly, but those words resonated with me strongly.

How can I expect my body to get on board with the changes I’m making if I’m constantly pumping hateful energy into it? My body may not be perfect, but supports me on a daily basis and that’s not something to be taken for granted. I haven’t always treated my body well, but it hasn’t failed me.

My body is the number one component in my healthy curves journey and its a terrible idea for me to regard it with anything but love and gratitude.  I owe my body a lot and I am grateful for every inch of it.

Come to your legs with a spirit of gratitude… Instead of hating my inner thighs I should be thankful that I have legs strong enough to endure my workouts.

Come to your arms with a spirit of gratitude… Instead of obsessing over “bat wings” I should be proud of the 24 pound kettle bell I lifted for 40 reps the other day

Come to your back with a spirit of gratitude… Yup, I have back fat. But underneath it is a large mass of muscle that keeps me tall and supported.

This week marks the beginning of a new month and a new season. Maybe its just me, but I feel such a sense of renewal and excitement right now. This year will be coming to a close before we know it but there’s still time to grow and take things to the next level, still time to end the year better than we started it (whatever that looks like for each of us).

My life goals are varied and vast and my desires for change run deep. My #PSPfit lifestyle is just one thing that keeps things in perspective for me. I take the lessons I learn in my healthy curves journey and apply them wherever I can. (Come to your job/relationships/finances with a spirit of gratitude… these fitness lessons definitely are applicable in many areas!)

For those of you want to get involved in the next round of #PSPfit here are your options for the remainder of the year:

1. 1.) The Fall #PSPfit Clean Eating + Fitness Bootcamp will run during the 30 days before Thanksgiving. Discount registration will begin on October 10th. If you want to be notified when the list opens up, you can sign up here
2. 2.) If you want to get a solid foundation on Clean Eating before you participate in bootcamp, Nutritionist Abra Pappa has created a “#PSPfit 30 Days to Clean Eating” program with recipes, meal plans and everything you need to eat clean. You can get that here
3. 3.) Want some #PSPfit accountability? Instagram/Tweet your workouts and healthy meals with the #PSPfit hashtag (You can also post them onto the #PSPfit Facebook page here

This week I’m going to try to counter my negative thoughts with thoughts of gratitude… will you join me?