“The female body is the most beautiful art of God“, my fitness trainer said to me almost four years ago, when I started with fitness adding, “Treat your body like your best friend and it will respond to your needs the same way.“
I remembered those words yesterday because I ran into an elderly gentleman – who I regularly see in the gym – saying he was sorry that he didn’t treat his body better in the past. Since then I’ve been thinking about this… We only get one body, so we should take good care of it and treat it with the utmost respect. I’m sure you have probably heard of the advice to treat your body like a temple, not a woodshed. But what does that mean? For me it means being aware enough to know what it needs and what is best for my body. It means I take care of it with regular exercise and healthful food choices. I know it can be a challenge sometimes to find the time to exercise, but if you don’t have time for an hour workout, your back up workout can be 15, 20 or 30 minutes. Remember your body records every move. So every step, every jump, every squat counts! Not long time ago my friend said to me: „I treat my body like it is the most valuable car in the world (in fact, it is worth so much more…).“ When you think of it he has a point. (1) You wouldn’t fuel your car with cooking oil, right? So why would you be fuelling your body with junk food, too much sugar, soda, food additives and chemicals that are known to cause all sorts of disease. (2) I’m not a mechanic but if you keep your car in the garage all the time and you don’t use it, the car engine will lose its power. It’s the same with your muscles. What you don’t use, you lose. If you don’t use your muscles, they will get small and weak. Even my granny used to say: “Your body will get rusty and stiff if you don’t move your butt!” Anyhow, muscles, if you train them properly, will keep the strength, endurance and flexibility, which enable the body to move with less risk of pain or injury.
Remember you are the caretaker of your body. Treat it like a temple.“If you take good care of it, your body can take you wherever you want to go, with the power and the strength and energy and vitality you will need to get there.“ Think of it like this: „Your body is like a piano… what you get out of it depends on how you play it.“Fill your temple with the wondrous music of healthy food, daily exercise and good relationships.
