How Your Story Affects your healing
We all have a story we tell ourselves about our lives, ourselves, and our bodies. These stories keep us where we are and are constantly reaffirmed by our brains. We have stories we tell ourselves about how we are in social settings, about how other people treat us, and about the limitations of our bodies. These stories limit our capacity for growth and healing; they hold us captive in the story with no room or space for growth or renewal. When we constantly tell ourselves the story of our bum knee that keeps us from pursuing a more healthy and active lifestyle not only do we begin to form an unhealthy relationship with our body by blaming and potentially hating our knee; we begin to settle into the unhealthy lifestyle through the belief that it is all that is available to us due to our limitations.
Limitations limit you so much as you allow them to. There is always an option to invite change into your routine to create a more fulfilling and functional life; however, you have to choose to invite in this change. By shifting the story you tell yourself about your body you shift your entire life. When you start to honour and acknowledge your body for all that it has done for you rather than looking at what it has not done you form a strong, long-lasting, healthy connection with your body. You begin to see your body and yourself in a new light; you shift the narrative about what your body is capable of and in doing so open yourself up to a world of possibilities.
The shift in our story and our thinking does not have to be drastic to have a drastic impact on our relationship with ourself and our body. For example, you had a surgery on your right knee and since that surgery you have defined yourself as someone with a ‘bad’ right knee. A shift in this line of thinking is ‘my right knee has carried me through life and the challenges that lead to the surgery, I am grateful for my right knee and how it continues to carry me in this life.’ It is a small shift but focusing on what the body can do and has done will bring you closer to yourself and allow you to cultivate a more positive self-image and body image. Shifting the focus to what your body is capable of moves you into a space of gratitude for your body which facilitates a more fulfilling connection with your body.
The more connected you are to your body and the more positively you see yourself the more your story shifts towards a story of fulfillment. Just as your brain looks to make the negative story true, over time your brain will begin to look for evidence to make the more body positive story you are creating true. It will take time and it will take work. Your mind is powerful and will do what it can to keep you in the story you have told yourself about your body because it knows that story well, and even if that story is not fulfilling, and potentially very damaging, it is a familiar story to your brain and the brain craves familiarity. Stay vigilant in the story you are re-writing. Remember how the story you have been telling yourself has been keeping you stuck, and you are ready for growth, change, and healing. The only way this growth will truly manifest is through the altering of your current story and shifting your feelings and thoughts about your body. Your low back tightness is not limiting you from moving, your low back tightness is trying to send you a message to strengthen your core to support and protect your spine to facilitate safe functional movement. Mobility comes from a place of support and stability, by limiting your range of movement your body is protecting your spine. The pain in between your shoulders is not an excuse to sit on the couch and not move (this will only lead to more pain), it is a message from your body to take a deep breath and create some space through your chest. Your body is asking you to check your posture and core stability. Tension and pain exist in the body as a way for the body to communicate it’s needs to you so you can make shifts to better support your body. Notice your capacity to listen to your body. When we start to shift our thinking about what pain in the body really is, information from the body, we can begin to alter and shift our story about our bodies, and their limitations in a major way.
No part of your body is good, no part of your body is bad, unless you make it so. There is no good or bad way to move the body, there is a functional and pain free way to move the body and that will look different for all bodies.
Notice how you feel about your body. Notice the story you tell yourself about different parts of your body and notice how this story affects your life and your overall health. Now notice if it is a story you are interested in pursuing or if you are interested in beginning the difficult but rewarding process of rewriting your story of your body. The choice is always yours.
Gratitude is a mindset that is created through focus and dedication. Can you invite gratitude in for your body and all it has done for you?
