Mindfulness Monday: Is it Healthier to Let Go of the Idea of Perfect Health?

Today’s Mindfulness Monday post is brought to you by personal experience.  Do you ever have those times on your health voyage when things are humming along swimmingly?  Just one more little tweak and you might actually hit the peak and then…..all hell breaks loose.  This happened to me recently and although I am not above getting pissed about it, my paradigm is slowly starting to shift.

If you are human, you have probably dealt with your fair share of injury and/or illness.  When you are down on your luck it is tough to feel healthy.  You may feel as if your body has betrayed you.  This betrayal may seem all the more egregious if you are someone who is doing “all the right things”.  If you are struggling with motivation because your efforts seem in vain remember this: true healthy living is supporting the body through injury and illness, not just in the absence of it.  If you are dealing with health issues but still value a healthy lifestyle, consider the following ideas:

–Support the body without trying to control it:  Have you ever found yourself googling about how to fix a health issue?  Do you try to heal yourself with multiple supplements and get disappointed when you are not feeling better in record time?  It’s easy to get caught in your head instead of listening to what the body truly needs.  Use good nutrition and lifestyle practices to support the body in healing, not to force it.

–Remember the body tends towards balance: Think of all the cuts your body has healed, viruses it’s fought off, broken bones it has mended….the body tends towards balance (though not always as swiftly or completely as the brain would like!)  Sometimes the best option is to take your hands off the controls, rest, and allow healing to happen.

–There is no end game: As long as we are living, there will be challenges that arise physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  And they will impact how we feel.  The game of health is being curious about what arises.  The daily shifting, refining, and fortifying of our health practices is a necessary (albeit super duper frustrating!) part of the journey.

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Time removes all our junk….metaphor anyone?