Let us see that REAL HEALTH means we are comfortable in our skin.
2020
READ BEFORE SETTING WEIGHT LOSS GOALS:
Begin your year with a complete approach!
Growing up I thought that healthy meant skinny.
I was very obese until the age of 20 and the ideal of “skinny” eluded me until I left home. Interestingly enough, everyone else in at home was skinny, yet smoking and substance dependency was pervasive through my family. Back then, I believed that becoming skinny would be the solution to all my problems - it would make people value me more.
Looking back at nearly 10 years of self discovery and I can see how dysfunctional my beliefs and conditioning were around health. I believe it is the case for many poorly educated Americans who survive on the standard American diet - S.A.D. a short and appropriate acronym.
Getting out of my home environment was a huge factor for me in beginning my journey into health. I often call it my “weight loss” journey and from now I will begin calling it my “journey to health”, because real HEALTH is much more than just being skinny. As we might have been culturally conditioned to believe.
The World Health Organization has a definition for health, appropriately. The W.H.O. defines health a state of physical, mental, and social well-being. They go on to add “not only the absence of disease or infirmity”.
One of my teachers from India, an Ayurvedic doctor, loves to cite this definition and when he does (Dr. Harsh Agarwal) is always quick to point out that social well being translates to spiritual health. I think that the W.H.O avoids the term “spiritual” health because it is so often misunderstood and enmeshed with religion. Regardless of language choice, health is something more than a physical experience…
… as I lost weight and became “healthy” I also became addicted to an image …
Bottom line
There’s health and then there is HEALTH.
I have found a great deal of beauty in the experience that working on any aspect of true health will open doors in the other aspects. There is an inherent connectivity in them. For example, If someone is having challenges on cultivating physical health - they might greatly benefit their cause by looking at their emotional, or mental wellness in addition to the physical part. This happened for me, as I lost weight and became “healthy” I also became addicted to an image. Body dysmorphia ensued (I will make a blog more in depth about this part of my life) and it didn’t go away until I started cultivating emotional and spiritual health through yoga and meditation.
Now I look amazing, feel amazing, and I am so comfortable in my skin. That’s IT! EUREKA - Let us see that REAL HEALTH means we are comfortable in our skin. I can help you!
Big LOVE!
Jefe