2012, A Time for the Body

I am not an expert on body work.   In high school I was in the track team, but I cannot say I was very good.  I had a couple of injuries and although I was a very fast sprinter, I never got to live my love of running. 

I always loved dancing.  In college I would dance for hours, especially on Saturday nights when life at Cornell University gave me a short break.  I started to do Yoga and body building seriously when I was in college.  I was very healthy and fit when I graduated from college.

I returned to Turkey after college.  I was planning to stay for a masters degree in engineering.  However, my father had been ill since his by-pass surgery during my sophomore year and he needed support at our family construction company.  After I returned to Turkey, I worked almost nonstop for eight nine years.  Then I was not that well anymore.  I had various problems with my health as well as many problems with my husband.  My father and mother were experiencing serious health problems, too.  Everything looked good on the outside.  Business was good.  I was married, travelling around the world although for much shorter times since I was working very hard, driving very nice cars.  I was able to buy and do more or less all that I wanted.  I was also helping a lot of people during those years.  Giving financial help was what I knew to do.   Today I have a little different understanding of helping another person.  We learn best my doing and especially by making mistakes.  However, maybe what I did then protected me during the couple very dark years that followed.

Anyway. My path led me to energy work and various healing methods.  I never looked for a method to heal myself or my life.  As l looked for healing methods to help others, I was to discover a whole new way of life for myself.  At all phases of my life there were people who told me how foolish it is to try to help others.  Surely there were times when I was hurt and betrayed by the people that I helped, however, I believe that trying to help with a pure heart can never truly hurt us.   As long as we know our boundaries. As long as helping does not turn into satisfying our own ego.  Help should be about empowerment. Again, today I have a different of definition of what really helping another means. No one is a victim.

Although I learned many different personal development and healing tools, energy work has always been my favourite.  The more I advanced, I found myself doing less and less body work.  Although I did not have any health problems, at one point I realized that I was losing the awareness of my body and that I was gaining weight.  Gaining weight is a common symptom among many energy healers.  If we are not careful about grounding ourselves, we start to use food and eating as a means for grounding.  Naturally many healers end up gaining weight.

Also, spiritual work is important, but if we have been born on this planet, I believe that it means we need to work with our body, mind and spirit. With spiritual work, it is easy to look down upon material needs and all that is material including the body. I have been doing mental and spiritual work deeply, but not enough body work.  To find a new balance I needed to focus on my body again.  That is when I turned to Louise Hay with a different focus.

Good diet and physical exercise are essential for good health.  Deep awareness of our body is another level of body work.  A topic that I want to start sharing more.  Actually in some of my previous articles I had shared some body affirmations as the affirmations of the week.  Now, I would like to recommend to you using Louise L. Hay’s body awareness affirmations in a systematic manner.  Louise Hay has mapped out the relationship between our though patterns and our health.

-          I always thoroughly use any technique that I recommend to my family, friends and clients.  The body affirmations that I will share will certainly heal and strengthen your body immensely. There are seven affirmations given in this article.  Of course, there are many more for the other parts of our body. 

The way to work with the following affirmations, suggested by Louise L. Hay:

-          Use one affirmation a day in the first round of working with the affirmations.

-          Repeat each affirmation for at least ten times every morning and every evening.

-          Write each affirmation at least ten times every day.

You may also write the affirmation and place it where you can see during the day. The next week, either do another round of the seven affirmations or during the second week every morning look at the seven affirmations and choose that you feel will serve you the most.

Day 1 - Affirmation 1:  I Love My Mind

My mind enables me to recognize the beautiful Miracle of my Body.  I am glad to be alive.  I affirm with my mind that I have the power to heal myself.  My mind chooses the thoughts that create my future moment by moment.  My power comes through the use of my mind. I choose thoughts that make me feel good.  I love and appreciate my beautiful mind.

Day 2 - Affirmation 2:  I Love My Scalp

My scalp is relaxed and peaceful.  It is loose and easy. It provides a nourished bed for my hair. My hair is able to grow freely and luxuriously. I choose the thoughts that massage my scalp with love.  I love and appreciate my beautiful scalp.

Day 3 - Affirmation 3:  I Love My Hair

I trust the process of life to take care of my every need, and I grow strong and peaceful. I relax my scalp and give my beautiful hair room to grow luxuriously. I lovingly groom my hair and choose the thoughts that support its growth and strength. I love and appreciate my beautiful hair.

Day 4 - Affirmation 4:  I Love My Eyes

I have perfect vision.  I see clearly in every direction.  I see with love my past, my present and my future.  My mind chooses the way I look at life.  I see with new eyes. I see good in everyone and everywhere. I now lovingly create the life I love to look at.  I love and appreciate my beautiful eyes.

Day 5 - Affirmation 5:  I Love My Ears

I am balanced and poised and one with all of life. I choose the thoughts that create harmony around me.  I listen with love to the good and the pleasant.  I hear the cry for love that is hidden in everyone’s message. I am willing to understand others, and I have compassion for them.  I rejoice in my ability to hear life. I have a receptive capacity of mind.  I am willing to hear.  I love and appreciate my beautiful ears.

Day 6 - Affirmation 6:  I Love My Nose

I am at peace with everyone around me. No person, place, or thing has any power over me.  I am the power and authority in my world.  I choose the thoughts that recognize my own true worth.  I recognize my own intuitive ability.  I trust my intuition, for I am always in contact with Universal Wisdom and Truth.  I always go in the right direction for me.  I love and appreciate my beautiful nose.

Day 7 - Affirmation 7:  I Love My Mouth

I nourish myself by taking in new ideas.  I prepare new concepts for digestion and assimilation.  I make decisions with ease based upon the principles of Truth. I have a good taste for life. I choose the thoughts that enable me to speak with love. I speak up for myself, secure in my own true worth.  I love and appreciate my beautiful mouth.

In the coming weeks, I will share more of Louise Hay’s body affirmations for better health and a happier life.

May love and light always be with you.

Zeynep

Quote of the Week:

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.”

                                                                                                              By William James

The Messages of Our Weight and Body

I spent most of my childhood years as a very thing girl. During my high school years I did gain weight, however gave most of it back during college at Cornell University. Students who go to the US usually gain weight. There is a term “freshman fifteen” and it is used to refer to the weight that students gain in their first year in college, which is about 15 pounds. I on the other hand lost about 15 during my first two years at Cornell. My height was 158 cm, and my weight ranged from 47-52 kgs over my four years in college. I was 58 kg when left for the states from Turkey. I was 52 kg when I returned to Turkey after college. My weight has been fluctuating over the years, up and down and up again. This is one issue that has not been very stable in my life, and one issue I would like to look more seriously into. So far it had not been top priority; and I feel that the time has come.

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When looking at a health issue through the eyes of complementary medicine, or holistic medicine, we need to beyond the visible. If I am overweight, unless I have a different health problem issue, I must be taking in more calories then I am spending. To lose weight I would need to eat less and exercise more. However, for many people going to a dietician and going to sports clubs do not solve their weight problems. Even though they may lose weight, most of them gain weight right back. Why?

Although we understand the mathematics behind gaining weight, unless we look into the reasons of why we choose to have excess weight on our bodies, we cannot find permanent solutions. And being overweight means that we subconsciously believe that the excess weight is necessary or that being overweight is serving us in some way. If we can discover these hidden benefits that the excess weight is providing, then we can find a way to be and to stay in our ideal weight.

How could being overweight serve us?

If you subconsciously believe that you are not safe, and that you need protection, gaining weight is one way your body responds to this thought. Finding food meant safety for humans for hundreds of years, and your body responds with ancient protection methods to your current safety issues. You might be feeling unsafe because you may not be getting the promotion you want; your body senses insecurity from your experience, and you gain weight. You may try dieting, but under those conditions you will not be able to lose that weight no matter what you do. On the surface you want to lose weight. However, on a deeper level, your subconscious keeps saying: “I need protection.” And having food is being safe. And also with the extra weight you are physically adding layers around your body which are in a way your natural shields.

Being aware of our unknown ulterior motives is not easy. Yet, even knowing that they exist brings enough awareness to create change.

Of course there are many reasons for overeating, however the need or desire for protection, insecurity issues are some of the most common ones. There are many more. If we are overweight and we are staying that way, this means that this condition is serving us in some way. If we did not choose to stay fat, we most probably wouldn’t be.

I would certainly request you to have your medical check-ups to make sure that you do not have a health problem that needs immediate attention. If you are not able to control your weight even though medically you do not seem to have any problems, then it is appropriate to look at the issue from another perspective.

I feel the need to add that all illnesses tell us something about our way of thinking and our subconscious beliefs as well. For example, if we keep on having injuries, then first it is necessary to take care of the wound. Yet, later on we need to find out why we keep on having wounds. How is this serving us in any way?

Once I had client, an old lady a grandmother of three kids, who came to me asking for some supportive energy. She had broken a leg, and felt the need to heal fast to help her daughter to take care of her three kids, her own grandchildren. In a few seconds the picture was clear to me.

I asked her: “Why did you break your leg?” First she looked quite puzzled, then she started to cry. After crying for a few minutes, she looked up and said: “I cannot go on anymore. I am so tired.” It turns out she had been feeling very tired with the responsibility of supporting her daughter with the kids. However, she could not find the courage or heart to share this with her daughter. She could not say to her that she was tired, and although she loved them all very much, it was difficult for her to find the energy as well as the patience to be with three young kids every day. With a broken leg, she had the permission. All on the subconscious level. Please remember that she had come to me to have faster healing and more energy to take care of her chores.

This lady needs to share her honest situation with her daughter, and learn to say “no” to demands when she does not want to accept. Also using methods like Reiki she can find ways to increase her energy and not feel so frustrated.

Over the years I have seen that a lot of the injuries that we are experiencing are self-induced subconsciously to serve us, to protect us in an interesting way.

As for anorexia and bulimia, these conditions are also serving the person in some way. In the cases that I have worked with as a coach, not loving the self seems to be the main thought that triggers anorexia. There may be many different reasons for how and why this thought is created, however belief of self-worthlessness or even self-hate can become very strong. For both anorexia and bulimia, immediate medical care and professional psychological support might be necessary. However, I believe that after the urgent measures are taken, attention to the thoughts and beliefs that trigger these conditions needs to be given as well.

I would like to share some affirmations for self-love and self-acceptance this week. Repeat them whenever you can, in the morning, during the day, in the evenings, but at least 20-25 times a day. You can choose one affirmation and work on that over a week, or you may choose one every day and use different affirmations each day. Please follow your heart.

I trust the process of life.

I am deeply fulfilled by all that I do.

I am safe, it’s only change.

I can release the past and forgive everyone.

I love my body.

I love life.

I am worth loving.

My healing is already in process.

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I wish all of you a wonderful week.
With lots of love,

Zeynep

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Affirmation of the Week:
“Today I listen to my feelings, and I am gentle with myself. I know that all of my feelings are my friends.” By Louise L. Hay

Quote of the Week:
“Man is asked to make of himself what he is supposed to become to fulfil his destiny.”
Paul Tillich

Zeynep’s Book Recommendation:
“The Life You Were Born To Live” By Dan Millman
The Turkish translations of these stories are available under the name “Hayatınızın Amacı”.