A Sacred Gift

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul.

You have a body. ~C.S. Lewis

I've been thinking recently about what a wonderful gift our mortal body is. We read in Genesis 1:26 And God said, let us make man in our own image, after our likeness. I've been pondering over this idea and my conclusion is this: Does it get much better than that?

Let me tell you what got me on this path in the first place. I was watching my favorite TV show, The Drs. It's a panel discussion with four different doctors. Usually they answer questions and pick certain relevant topics to discuss regarding keeping yourself healthy and safe. Occasionally, they will profile someone who might have an interesting issue or medical problem. One day they were talking about a young woman who was 27 years old. She was a professional dancer and dance teacher. One day, out of the blue, she lost control of her neck muscles and was unable to control the movements of her head. It soon spread through her whole body. She was diagnosed with a neurological disease called Dystonia. It basically causes her body to move uncontrollably all the time. Like constant muscle spasms. She is 27! She is totally unable to have a normal life.

I was so drawn into her story. It's hard to see people who one day have their abilities and the next day they are gone. Unfortunately, I watched that happen with my mom. Although it wasn't a 24 hour change, it happened (in my opinion) very quickly and it was one of the hardest things to watch.

So I got to thinking about how fast it can all just disappear. Injury, illness, accidents, malnourishment, etc. We are all human and therefore all susceptible. Our flesh can betray us.

I think I've always had a pretty healthy appreciation for my body and my abilities. I think it's hard not to in my chosen profession. I think you go one way the other when you're a dancer. I'm lucky that I've never had issues with eating disorders, I've known plenty of dancers who have though. But one thing that all of us dancers can agree upon is the fact that our art form would not exist if not for a physical body. It is our canvas, it is physically challenging and sometimes damaging. Between the strain on your body and the connection to your mind and spirit, it truly is a full body experience.

I've been thinking about all of this and trying to make sense of all my feelings surrounding my body and the imperfections and the amazing abilities that it possesses. My conclusion is that it is amazing and I need to care for it in every way possible. Sara Lee Gibb, professor of modern dance at BYU gave a devotional address in 1989 entitled Our Mortal Body-A Sacred Gift. She had this to say on the subject of caring for our bodies:

If we understand the significance of the body in the eternal plan of salvation in even a small way, could we permit ourselves to be dressed immodestly, to allow our bodies to be defiled or to defile that of another, to slash or cut the body-a practice forbidden by God because it was being done in some early cultures (Leviticus 19:28)-to weaken the body with inappropriate substances, to try to strengthen the body with inappropriate substances, to allow our muscles to atrophy and become weakened through lack of movement and disuse, to deny nourishment to the point of anorexia, or allow other destructive behaviors?

I think about this talk all the time because it has so many good points. But I really love this quote. It means a lot to me.

As I think about the wonderful gifts that I am endowed with as a human being, this is what I come up with. I can walk, run, read, smell flowers, kneel down and dig in the dirt, taste delicious food, bare children, hear beautiful music, sing with my kids, dance, leap, type, run up the stairs, drive a car, feel the grass on my toes, feel the beat of my heart. There are a myriad of other wonderful things that I am capable of doing purely because I have a body, these are just a few. Some of these gifts will fade and I know that not everyone is blessed with these gifts even though they do have a body. But there are some that I don't have that other people do. The point is, it is a blessing to have a body and all that that entails.

So what am I going to do to further show appreciation for this sacred gift? Get more rest. Eat better-3 meals a day at least, maybe 5 small ones-either way, no skipping meals. Get adequate exercise-I thought that I was doing fine with all of dancing that I do throughout the week, but it's not. I need to balance what I'm doing-plenty of aerobic activity and strength training as well as everything dancing entails. Drink more water. Not be so hard on myself and that my body isn't exactly where I want it to be. After three kids, it will never be where I want it to be in the first place. No more negative comments about my appearance (It'll be hard) especially around my kids. Have better posture-my posture is pretty good already, but I slouch and stand with uneven weight distribution, so I can do better there. All in all, I will strive to appreciate, every day, the physical body that I have been given.

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci 1487