Currently, I’ve been feeling quite content with my body despite the challenges of aging and life experiences. However, it wasn’t always this way. To be honest, for most of my life, I felt disconnected from my own body. I used to say that my body was the biggest obstacle in my life.
During that time, I felt entirely at ease within my mind—thinking, acting, and reacting quickly and sharply. I wasn’t even aware that I was connected to my body until I became ill or experienced physical discomfort. From that perspective, my body was simply a problem. Whenever this issue arose, I wanted to resolve it as swiftly as possible and return to my ideal mental world without any physical disruptions. This approach usually worked, allowing me to live for years without much contact with my physical self—my body.
When did this change? When did I first feel that my body was not a hindrance, but perhaps a solution?
For our body to become a solution, we must cultivate a positive relationship with it. This wasn’t the case for me back then. The turning point for me was through massage. Seeking a quick remedy for my tired and tense body, I decided to undergo a massage session.
At the time, it wasn’t easy for me to recognize my body’s needs and open myself up to an accepting and nurturing touch. Nevertheless, it happened. I placed trust in both myself and a therapist recommended by a friend. After that session—the first Lomi Lomi massage I had ever experienced—I not only felt more relaxed and less tense, but more importantly, I felt a newfound sense of wholeness. Perhaps for the first time in my life, I felt an alliance with my body. From then on, my attitude towards my physical vessel began to transform. I started to approach it with more acceptance, gratitude, and gentle presence, replacing the judgmental, demanding, and neglectful approach I had maintained before. The more I acknowledged and accepted my body, the more our communication and relationship improved. Over time, I learned to listen to those ‘subtle whispers’ and gained a deeper understanding of how my body functions, what it requires, and how I can reciprocate its support.
What is your relationship with your body? Is your body your ally—a close and tender friend—or do you perceive it as an adversary, an impediment blocking your path? Perhaps you are hardly aware of its presence? Do you feel connected and nurtured by your physical vehicle, or do you sense detachment, suppression, or limitations? These questions have become integral to my role as a bodyworker and holistic training facilitator. They emerge in workshops with our students, in conversations before and after massage sessions with my clients, and above all, they continue to influence my relationship with my own body.
