Dealing with ill health or having a body that doesn’t work the way it is supposed to can be devastating. Not only is it important to feel good about our body, but it is also important to feel good inside our body. It is hard to feel emotionally well when your body won’t cooperate with you. Although I believe wholeheartedly in the mind/body connection, sometimes to survive serious physical issues, what you really need to do is completely disconnect.
You are NOT your body.
Your body is a container that you are sitting in, but your body is not who you are. Finding a way to disconnect and separate the two can be immensely helpful on your healing journey.
I have struggled with several autoimmune disorders as well as serious endocrine/hormonal issues over the last 15 years. These problems have resulted in my body feeling pretty crappy at times. I started losing my hair in my mid-thirties, and by forty I was diagnosed with alopecia areata. Here’s a side view picture taken from that time. I remember sitting down with a close friend and asking her to tell me how bad it really was. She responded, “It’s really bad. It’s time to do something.”
This picture was taken right before I cut my hair short and began a wig wearing phase.
I also went into early, symptomatic menopause in my mid thirties, as well as starting to have severe pain from arthritis. Physically, I was a mess. It was a difficult process to untangle my identity as “Karalee” the mind and soul, from my identity as “Karalee” the physical body. But the more I could disconnect and separate those two things, the better able I was to take care of my body and feel better.
I started coming across many inspiring people who had much more difficult physical issues than my own, but who did not allow their physical limitations to define who they were at their core.
Nick Vujicic is one such person. He was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by being born without arms or legs. Nick did go through a period of severe depression early in his life, where he wasn’t sure he wanted to live. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to work. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to get married or have children. He mourned the fact that he’d never be able to hold his lover’s hand in his own.
Nick fought his negative feelings, and he is now an author of multiple books and runs a program called Attitude is Altitude. Nick found a way to focus on what he had, instead of what he didn’t. And he found he had a lot. He had tenacity and determination. He had resolve and he had faith. He learned how to throw a tennis ball, play a drum, comb his hair and brush his teeth. He also learned to participate in a variety of sports including sky-diving, surfing and soccer. He does not let his physical limitations define who he is. He’s been able to do all the things he ever wanted to do in life…and more.
Separating your physical body from who you are at your core can help you become more creative in how to work with your body. If you learn to completely disconnect You from Your Body, you can start to look at your body objectively, without a mess of negative emotions. And when you aren’t blinded by a fog of anxiety, depression or judgement, it is much easier to figure out the potential that your body has.
Stephen Hawking’s body hardly worked at all, but with the tiniest movements of his eye muscles, he was able to write theories and books that revolutionized the world. Not only was Stephen Hawking a master at separating his physical body from who he was, he was a master at being grateful for the body he ended up in.
“I relish the rare opportunity I’ve been given to live the life of the mind. By losing the finer dexterity in my hands, I was forced to travel through the universe in my mind.”
-Stephen Hawking-
“I relish the opportunity!”
“I relish the opportunity!”
“I relish the opportunity!”
That is a magical mantra that everyone with physical issues should use as part of a health and healing ritual. Stephen Hawking saw his physical issues as a gift that he learned to thoroughly enjoy. He viewed his physical state as one of opportunity, not one of oppression.
If you struggle with any physical illness or ailment, a ritual I recommend is taking out two pieces of paper and drawing yourself on each one. It doesn’t matter how simple or elaborate the pictures are. One of the drawings should represent your “soul” self, and the other should represent your “physical” self.
Stephen Hawking’s physical self didn’t weigh very much, had short brown hair and crooked teeth, was shriveled up with ALS and was bound to a wheel chair. His soul self had genius, humor and wit, loving relationships, hard working determination and left a tremendous impact on the world.
“Relish” Ritual
If you really want to go all out, I recommend doing a “Relish” Ritual. To relish means to delight in, to love, and to adore. When you love and adore something, you pay close attention to it. You listen to it. If you truly learn to listen to your physical body, you will discover the gifts it has in store for you.
Write a letter to your physical self, to your illness or ailment. Ask it earnestly to share it’s secrets with you. What gift is it trying to give you? What diamond is hidden inside the rough, rocky edges?
Write this letter with your dominant hand. Then put your pen in your non dominant hand…or better yet, between two toes, or your teeth. Start writing answers to those questions. You’ll be surprised what starts to appear on the page.
It wasn’t until I started losing my hair that I truly started to understand my beauty and become deeply comfortable and at peace with myself…both mentally and physically. It wasn’t until my body was in the worst physical shape it had ever been, that I was able to discover my sensual, uninhibited sexy self and playfully engage with my fun, flirtatious nature.
Although I saw many specialists on my healing journey…nutritionists, homeopathic healers, and many experts with D.C, M.D., or Ph.D. after their names, I learned that none of them had more wisdom about how to heal me than my own body and I did.
I’ve earned my G.M.H.
Goddess of My Health degree
My problematic health taught me to tap into the genius of my higher self, to walk on a higher road, and to heal myself on a higher plane. Although like Nick Vujicic and Stephen Hawking, my body is still flawed, my soul is joyously occupied with creating the life I want to lead. I am able to live an amazing life in spite of, and in many ways because of my physical problems.
I choose to look at my health issues as an opportunity to truly understand and know what real health and well being is. You can’t really understand what true health is, until going through the process of understanding what it isn’t. These problems have led me to live in one of the most pristine, healthy places on our planet.
Here in Alaska, I am able to eat amazing, fresh food grown and raised by neighboring farmers I know and love. I am able to hunt, fish and forage for the healthiest of wild plants and animals and enjoy the beauty of unpolluted, glorious views. Without the distractions of my old life in L.A., I am able to engage daily in gratitude rituals, feeling so very thankful for small and simple things.
There are priceless gifts inside of every huge rock that obstructs our road while traveling down the path of life. Instead of complaining about that rock in your way, clap your hands together, rub them till they’re nice and warm, say a prayer of gratitude for the opportunity in front of you, and get started on finding that diamond in the rough…because it’s in there. I promise!
Call now to receive a free 15 minute ritual consultation.
949 648 1109
I can help you create and implement rituals into your life that will act as a healing balm for your relationship with your body. You will come to know that when your relationship with your body is healthy and vibrant, even though your body may display symptoms of “illness”, you can still experience peace of mind and maintain a high level of “well-being”.