BEDTIME PRAYER
Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord My shape to keep.
Please no wrinkles, please no bags, and please lift my butt before it sags.
Please no age spots, please no gray, and as for my belly, please take it away.
Please keep me healthy, please keep me young, and thank you, dear Lord, for all that you’ve done.
~Anonymous
The only thing I agree with in this prayer is the last line. We are all headed in the same direction. No matter how firm, fit and fabulous we are today, we can bank on the aging process. Things will sag, gravity will eventually win. And it’s not the end of the world. At 50, I am becoming more and more happy with my aging body. We can live our lives with vitality and passion, wrinkles and all. We can stay healthy, and young at heart. And mostly, we can just be grateful that we are aging in a healthy body.
Here are 10 Thoughts About Loving Your Body at Any Age
- Love your body, simply because it’s the only one you have. And as far as we know, the only one we will ever have.
- Love your body because no one or nothing ever changed because it was criticized and hated. We change when we feel loved, accepted, and have the desire to be our best. Your butt is no different. I always tell my students that if you keep hating your big butt, it’s going to follow you around until you love it!
- Start with thoughts. Affirmations are powerful. Every morning, stand in front of the mirror and say “I Love You Unconditionallyâ€. At first it will sound strained and fake. But our thoughts create our feelings. Which would you rather feel…ashamed, self-conscious, closed off, or happy, open and confident? Start with positive words TO and ABOUT your body. Eventually you will believe them and the whole world will agree with you. We are drawn to confident people!
- Love your body because that makes you a great role model for young people. We have become so disconnected from our bodies, and we are raising children in America who have no idea what it means to be in their bodies. When you feel and express a love for the skin you live in, it sends the message to young people that the human body is nothing short of a miracle.
- Show your body that you love it by moving it! These bodies were made to move. Walking, yoga, dancing, anything that gives you joy. Do it every day and do it with a smile on your face. Our bodies can feel when we are smiling, and they smile too. Don’t believe me? Try it right now.
- Show your body you love it by filling it up with good, clean food. Fruits and veggies, grains, lean meats, dark chocolate (yes, I do think that’s a food group) and water, water, water.
- Surround your self with people who have a healthy relationship with their own bodies. Nothing will bring you down faster than going out to eat with your size 2 girlfriend who thinks she is fat. You can love them somewhere far away from the drama of the dinner table.
- Study real life role models who are aging gracefully with gratitude and authenticity. I love Maya Angelo who at age 85 said “If you have a choice, choose the 80sâ€Â and Jami Lee Curtis who at 53 said “I feel much more authentic. I’m flawed and contradictory and fraught in many areas. But I’m better. I’m growing, and that’s all I really want.”
- Sit down and write out the 10 things you absolutely MUST do before you die. Your bucket list. Put one of them on a timeline and get started on it. Passion, the excitement of looking forward to something that just lights you up brings a youthful vitality to your whole person.
- Do this short exercise. Close your eyes and think of someone you really, really love. Picture their face, their smile, their eyes. How do you feel just thinking about them? Chances are, you didn’t think of the most gorgeous or perfect person you know. You chose the person who loves you and makes you feel special. It has nothing to do with their hair color, perfect skin, or pants size. Try to remember that someone thinks of you when they are asked that question and they’re not thinking of your physical features. They’re thinking of YOU, the real you, and that’s a beautiful thing.
Please visit my website for more fitness, nutrition, and yoga tips: www.DeniseDruce.com.
