To develop a body of love, what is first and foremost of importance is to look after our vehicle, which is our human body. We can liken looking after our body to looking after our car. If you take care of your car, have it serviced, use the correct petrol, take care in how you are on the road, then the car will give you its maximum performance.

On the other hand, drive fast, burn out the tyres, never change the oil, don’t have it serviced, put in the wrong petrol, then the car starts to break down. You may not see the effects immediately, but over time, you see the degradation of the vehicle.

This is much like our bodies. By taking care of our body, by fuelling it with food that nourishes and supports it – not eating too much or too little, getting a good amount of sleep and rest, exercise, working and committing to life (not checking out of society), not reacting to others or situations, all of this develops a body that is fit for life and fit for love.

Not only is building a body of love about the things we do to take care of ourselves, it is very much about the ‘how’ we take care of ourselves, the quality in which we do this.  As an example, we could exercise in a way where we push ourselves to try and get maximum results, reach an outcome. When we push our body to achieve, it builds a hardness that can not only be seen or reflected in our physicality, but can also be felt on the inside.

The quality in which we do things is super important as it can be easy for us to do all the right things, tick the boxes – eat, exercise, sleep, rest, but unless everything we do this in is a quality of true connection with our inner being, it is impossible to develop a body of love and to reap the benefits that come from this.

Why not gift yourself all year around the best present possible, that is reclaim a body of love that you can enjoy for yourself and then share with others. Why not try our Body Awareness Meditation which can support you in your connection with your body as part of your building a body of love program.

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Appreciation is such a key ‘ingredient’ of the soup of life. It is almost like it forms the basis of the flavours and helps bring out all other flavours in the soup of life.

A little sprinkle of tenderness, a pinch or two of commitment (large pinches please, as this is another key ingredient), stir the ingredients in the pot (anti-clockwise of course),

and then a drop of appreciation (no, make that a dollop, a big one) … and a twist of acceptance… to complete the bouquet.

And how could I forget to mention it is best to use joy as the stock, as this brings so much sweetness right from the start.

The longer you let this soup simmer delicately, the more the flavours come out to be appreciated.

Be sure to stop and smell the aromas often, allow them to fill your house and homes and open the windows so all around will get to benefit too.

The great thing about this soup is that there is enough to go around for everyone, so hand out the invitations and let’s have a soup party!

Henrietta Chang (BaNat, BaBiol, MApplSci Ecol, ATMS, EPA) is a practitioner of Natural Medicine with a keen interest in science and chemistry, food and nutrition as well as body work. She loves to work with people and is actively involved in supporting the education of students up to University level.

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December is upon us and once again doesn’t it feel like it has come around quickly?

As we enter into the end of year festive holiday season, it is a great opportunity to pause and reflect on the choices (our lifestyle choices and all others) we have made throughout the year and how all those choices have affected the quality of year we have had, where we are at and how our bodies are feeling.

One of the biggest realisations that we have had this year is the power and joy of self-appreciation, and how when we cultivate self-appreciation in our life – not so much for what we do or achieve, but rather for who we are, what we bring, our qualities, commitments and values – how this grows and opens up a flood gate of appreciation not only for ourselves but for others, all the small things in our lives and the world around us.

We personally have embarked upon a program where we have buddied up and shared via text message with each other twice daily something that we appreciate about ourselves. It can be something as simple as appreciating the quality in which we choose to walk or put ourselves to bed, to allowing more space in our day to simply be or our growing ability to refuse engaging in self-sabotaging activities or thoughts. Our daily appreciation can be anything that we truly value and appreciate about ourselves.

We have been committed and doing this daily for over a month and there has been much beauty in the unfolding nature of this program. It is very simple and offers much richness and rewards in opening up appreciation of yourself and then to others. The key was to do it consistently and daily so that self-appreciation naturally becomes your new normal.

It seems that numerous studies have been conducted on the benefits of appreciation including around brain functioning, corporate efficiency and as a health tool. What we have learnt from our little experimentation is

1. Self-appreciation is not about being positive nor is a mental construct, rather it is a sensation that is felt in the body

2. The importance to actually express, voice out to someone our self-appreciation

3. There is always something to appreciate about ourselves each and every single day even on the days when we are feeling a bit down and out

4. When we appreciate ourselves, we then automatically appreciate others and our lives more

5. It is heart opening and it felt deeply supportive to our health and wellbeing to appreciate ourselves and others on a consistent basis

You may want to experiment with giving yourself and all in your life this gift of appreciation in December and feel the difference in how you see yourself and others. A great way to end this year and prepare you for the new cycle that lays ahead as we approach 2016.

Alexandra Plane and Donna Nolan offer Yoga, Meditation, Cancer Support sessions and Esoteric Healing at their clinic in Balmain  Northern Beaches (Balgowlah) and Cammeray. Contact them for enquiries or bookings.

You may also like to read Donna’s blog Appreciation – A Pathway to Love

The post The Gift of Self-Appreciation appeared first on Yoga & Healing | Therapies Massage Exercise Corporate Wellbeing | Sydney, Balmain & Northern Rivers.