Sculpture : Marco Cochrane truth is beauty Image: unknown
At the end of most of my yoga classes, I close by asking us to take a moment to "thank our bodies for the hard work they have just done and have gratitude for the hard work they do for us every day, all the time, without us even knowing it", or words to that effect.
I don't know about you, but I'm miffed when I can't do a yoga pose. It bugs me when my leg won't neatly slide behind my head and I can't then balance on my index finger. When in reality, the fact that I can even lift a leg is an amazing feat of engineering and yet here I am complaining that it's not high enough.
Let's face it, we're pretty awesome
Approximately 50,000 cells in your body will die and be replaced with new cells during the time it takes you to read this sentence. We make a new layer of skin every month. The immune system is being bombarded by different microbes all the time, and it fights them and saves our lives. The list of amazing facts about our bodies is endless.
Imagine if all this were our responsibility. Let's just take one 'simple' process - breathing. It is now our job to remember to breathe 23,000 a day. There would be a post-it note on every fridge. "Buy milk. Vets @5pm. Breathe. Garden Bins."
Walking through the front door... "Darling, did you breathe today?
"No, I thought you were doing it."
"I did it yesterday and the school run, remember?"
Actually, if you forget -you die after 1-3 mins. (Unless you're David Blaine, he can forget for 17 minutes, but after that he's a goner too. Poufff)
How good are we at those things that are our responsibility? Nourishment, sleep, community, health, mental wellbeing? So when we do take an hour out of our busy day to do some yoga and breathe, move and come back to ourselves, I think it is worth taking a moment of appreciation.
Imagine having someone who has been with you since birth. Someone who has helped you through every sickness, no matter how terrible. Someone who stood by you when you were scared, in danger, nervous or challenged in anyway. Surely that person should be treated as a best friend, nurtured and celebrated.
Thank you Body - you are amazing.
... But could I still put in a lil' request, to help get that leg behind my head?
Much appreciated X
A version of this was sent in my newsletter- subscribe here