There are lots of ways of approaching the subject of caring for the human body, some more helpful than others. It’s not an enemy, you know. The body is more innocent than we realize. Physically speaking, we can think of the body as the embodiment or expression of thought. It’s like a canvas upon which is projected the best and the worst of what we accept as influences in our lives.
This could explain why the seven sins of anger, lust, greed, sloth, gluttony, envy, and pride are considered so deadly. They wreak havoc on minds and bodies. Whereas studies show that patience, purity, generosity, joy, balance, gratitude, and selflessness are influences that tend toward better health. We shouldn’t be surprised to see that bodies improve through the kind, gentle means of upgrading and spiritualizing our thoughts.
During marathon training in 2009, I lost sight of something important: that my body is innocent and highly obedient to the images I project upon it. We tend to think that it’s the body acting up when actually the body is naturally responding to whatever we’re allowing to influence it. Latent fears of injury, of weakness, of limited capacity, made me approach my body in a very unstable fashion. I was increasingly treating my body like a disobedient child. I was either too hard on it, or I would give up and let it run the show. Consequently, I started to be plagued by aches, pains, limitations, and injuries that were taking away from the joy of training.
