Taking Care of Our Temple: Before and After

Taking Care of Our Temple: Before and After
Image courtesy of The NewYorker, Oct. 4, 2010 p. 63

"The body is only a temporary vessel for awareness for undying consciousness. Trust the space of awareness. Wisdom, conscience knowing. The one who knows in you. Buddha nature." ~ Guided Meditations for Difficult
Time by Jack Kornfield

Isn’t this photo so perfect for the message this month! It came after I wrote this article. Divine timing! Last months newsletter seemed to get a little bit of attention. In the September newsletter I posted my before and after photo of my over 90 pound weight loss. After receiving a few comments I was drawn to express the needs our temple for this months newsletter.

Being physically fit is a part of an overall best practice for our Energy and Aura Hygiene. You can’t have one without the other. They spill into each other. Our energy relies on our physical health as well as our physical health relies on our energies being in optimum highest vibration. So they spill into each other. In order for our energies to be at our unique peek highest vibration we must maintain excellent physical health. And it’s easier to maintain our best physical health when our energies are at their highest and best.

I feel it is imperative to take care of the body, our temple, as a part of our enlightenment. We might ask why do I need to take care of my body to be evolved? Why can’t I just eat what I want when I want and do whatever I want when I want to do it? Since we’re all truly divine already why bother? Right? Wrong. We have been given the gift of this body we inhabit. We are Spiritual beings having Human experience. We must take care of the temple we are inhabiting. There is something there inside of most of us, even if very deep that says, "I'd feel really great if my body were healthier. Physically fit, not necessarily thin or stylish, but healthy and feeling good. There is something that draws you in to move; to move the body everyday; to do something for wellness; to eat the right foods; to provide whatever the body needs.

This act of taking care of the temple and moving the body has the effects of not only feeling good but it also prepares the body for enlightenment - Kundalini awakening. If you don't prep body you might be heading towards a catastrophic awakening, like Gopi Krishna in Living with Kundalini. We must do the work on the Self on all levels. Doing the work isn't just working on emotional issues and working towards becoming more spiritual but also working towards being more physically uplifted. That is the whole: Mind, body *and* soul together. So it is just as important to take care of the body. We are, after all, awakening the body while still alive in the body rather than through physically dying.

For me, in order to bring myself into more balance I found faith. I found faith in the Divine. And most importantly myself. I found self-Love. I found my spirituality and my true self and only then I was ready to take care of all the rest of me. This, of course, led me to shedding those pounds and healthily releasing mental and emotional issues and blocks.

Seems like I started backwards by working on spiritual stuff first. I’m sharing how it all played out for me. If this resonates with you and assists you on your path, great! I opened up spiritually first, while slowly working on emotional and mental issues. The physical awareness came last. There was something that finally came to me and I shifted. The awareness came to me that said: “I'm not happy. Something needs to change. I’m not happy with my body. The way I feel.” I was lazy and complacent back then in the unconscious me. When I opened up spiritually there was a connection to Source that I never had before. My faith was instilled in a higher power that nothing else can compare to. This faith in Spirit gave me drive and passion. A passion I never felt before. So I finally worked on my body physically (exercising, yoga, eating right) and expanding because of my physical efforts. Everyone has a different karmic cycle, different blueprint to live in this life. Take note, that there is some reason synchronistically that you've made it here and are reading this article. It's serendipity. A seed is being planted. Work on those issues.

Before my physical weight release, I WAS unconscious and trapped with stagnant energy and emotions. And after, I am more free and live more in the present moment. I am happy and filled with a passion for life and love. There is a greater purpose, you have a greater purpose and that purpose is getting to know yourself. So it seems the question is, how can you get to know yourself if you don't know your own body? So the awareness of the physical body as well as other bodies (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) is very important.

During physical activity you will have epiphanies, because you've created the space to stop thinking. Sometimes you are in a workout and eventually you'll come to a space where you are thinking and if you are thinking you are processing in a better state maybe even a meditative state. Things will come up; epiphanies will come; awareness of things. Things will come to you that you wouldn't necessarily think about because you were in negative thinking or fear mode, or you were busy in your own head or busy doing something else rather than creating this space for yourself in this workout. A deeper meaning suddenly flashes in your mind. An awareness of a higher meaning of things, things that come up, things you've gone through, and you may say, “Oh wow! Now I know why that happened. I get the lesson.” You see the forest for the trees all because you went through a workout, a walk, yoga or whatever, because you are honoring your temple.

It's important to note that as we move our body we are also releasing not only physical toxins and tensions but releasing emotional and stagnant energies from the body!! We tend to stuff down our emotions and not face our fears. When this happens it builds up in the body, as aches and pains to even a physical manifestation of illness or injury! Our physical body is not separate from our emotions nor is it separate from our soul. They are linked together working as a unit. We must work with all levels in a balanced fashion. We mustn’t ignore our physical bodies anymore. As we do this on ALL levels we move more naturally through the world and I dare say process and release challenges and emotions at a faster rate (or rather at a rate that is "normal" if working on all levels - mind, body and soul - rather than only one or two).

“Fitness to me isn't about a crunch or a push-up. It's about taking your power back. Physical fitness is transcendent because it forces you to finally face your issues.”
~ Jillian Michaels

Sometimes you need to have a physical exhaustion or fall apart completely in order to finally see what you need to see! This can happen physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. It's up to you. Can hear the whispers of your body? Do the work.

Challenge: It’s Your Choice

Take this challenge today. Find something that you enjoy and move your body. Do this at least 20-30 minutes five days a week. Extra credit it doing it every day. Please try this challenge for 30 days. See how you feel. Please send me your experience in moving your body. I really would love to know and share!

Now we also know that Yoga is extremely medicinal as well as therapeutic for the mind body and soul. Each pose offers us unique benefits through the body physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. So it is on the top of my list of recommendations for a routine to practice several times a week or even daily, even a few minutes a day. But do something else that makes you happy and moves your body. If it's walking, then walk. Running, then run! Aerobics, bicycling, skiing, roller skating, ice skating, tai chi, dancing! Whatever it is, do it. Decide you can do it and you will do it! It’s all up to you. It’s your choice. Jump up and give yourself the boost of energy and motivation you need to keep going. Once you output one seed of energy a giant mountain load of energy comes your way. The more energy you produce the more comes your way. All you have to do is take the first step. Then the Universal law of attraction is on your side keeping you going. I might sound like a broken record but for me Denise Austin's cheerleader attitude is really what motivated me to get the weight off and keep it off. I've kept off the weight for over 6 1/2 years! And I had a pregnancy in the middle of that. I still worked out every day and even on the day of my delivery. Because I loved it so much and knew that it would only help boost my immune system, ready my body for labor and also assist in a faster recovery after labor as well as shedding the 25 pounds I did gain during pregnancy. Of which I did shed in less than six weeks because I stuck with my workouts and eating plan as well as my faith in the Divine. It was the combination of the mind, body and soul connection that allowed me to finally keep off the weight for good.

So let’s take care of our temples. You find a strength that you didn't know was there. You open up and remove the petals of the flower to show more of yourself. You true Self. You also find an awakening, an awareness that you didn't realize you had and was always there waiting for you. We are all awakening in our own time. It is all a part of the process.

Enjoy, live, laugh and love always!

Blessings to you on your path,
~Spiritual Cheerleader
www.SpiritualCompassConnection.com