How I Transformed My Body with Light

One of the most important teachings of heard on the topic of healing is "adding light to darkness". 

When I first heard this phrase I didn’t really get it. Don't get me wrong, I understood the concept, however, I didn’t really know how to apply it to all areas of my life. As time went on I began to understand it more and more, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized the magic that occurs when this method is applied to our lives.  

Like most women, I’ve spent most of my life obsessing over my body. For years I dwelled over every pound and beat myself up over everything I ate. I thought I was overweight, which caused me to be insecure. I cried many times over the distorted self-image I'd created.

Learning to view life with a positive mindset meant I had to make some major changes. Over the last few years I started shifting my perspective about my body, food and exercise. By doing so, I shifted my outlook on food and exercise from one of wanting to be skinny to one of wanting to be healthy (adding light to darkness).

Before I knew it this method of adding light to darkness trickled into this area of my life, transforming me forever. I began to get curious about exercise and discovered that when it comes to working-out it’s all about me, and what works for me. Exercising is not a one-size-fits-all. Before this, I felt awful when I wouldn’t complete my workouts because I was bored, or simply wasn’t enjoying myself. Still, because I wanted to be strong and flexible and healthy I kept searching for a workout routine that I enjoyed, which ultimately led me to Yoga and now Pilates.  Then, my curiosity for learning about nutrition began to expand tremendously. It was no longer just about not eating bread for a month to see the pounds drop, it was about what was going to make me really healthy. What foods could provide the best nutrition for my body? (adding light to darkness)

By adding light to darkness I have transformed in that I no longer think about my body or food in negative ways. I work-out because I want to. I eat healthy because I want to. Because at the end of the day it makes me feel great when I do. By no means does this mean that I work out five days a week or that I don’t have my favorite red-velvet cupcake. All this means is that by adding light to a once dark area of my life I’ve been able to overcome a very difficult area of my life. I’m more comfortable in my own skin. I can now tell the difference between being overweight and needing/wanting to be toned. The negative thoughts that played in my head like a broken record no longer govern my life. I am a work-in-progress and I can see that for what it is, nothing more nothing less.

Taken March 2011 when I thought I was FAT

Adding light to a dark area of our life can be easier than we think; but only if we’re willing to work at it. Sometimes we stay in the darkness because it’s all we know, it's become habit to think the thoughts we think. But the truth is there’s no better way to live than to live in the light. Our quality of life will be better once we step into it.

How did my enlightenment physically change me? Well it's funny, once I started viewing nutrition and exercise differently, I began to eat better and exercise more. This led to shedding some pounds, which led to some toning, which led to some flattening of the belly. Because I noticed all the positive changes I was making, I was able to notice how my body was also changing for the better. In the past, any change would have gone unnoticed.  I've said it before, but I'll say it again, FOCUS IS EVERYTHING.

Taken May 2016 with my Grandson

As you can see my one thought of “I want to be healthy” shifted my entire thought process, which ultimately liberated me from a lifetime of self-mental abuse on my body image. So call to action this week is for you to take notice of any area of your life that’s consumed by darkness and begin to add light, start with a candle light if that’s all you can give. What’s important is that you take that first step to light up your world.