THIS MIGHT MAKE YOU SWEAT: The New Core Workout
If you work out at all, there is no escaping a conversation about your core. It’s that thing, smack dab in the middle of your body, between your hips and your heart, with a belly button on the front.
It is also the place we refer to emotionally when we have a “gut” reaction.
Either way, our core represents a series of inner-connected muscles to consider building up to maximum strength because it's the center of our personal universe, holding everything together.
Physically, a strong core is literally central to our well-being. It determines how well our spine sits where it’s supposed to. When our spines are aligned, then all those fluids sloshing around in there, flow and go where they are supposed to, which keeps our joints and organs, juicy and working like they should. (Feel free to quote me on these scientific descriptions of optimum health if you’d like.)
But, the other core, that emotional radar system, housed in all the other essential places, we can’t physically quantify may be even more important. That core/gut is also called intuition. When we don’t use it, just like all our other muscles, we can lose it.
How many blind alleys have we encountered because we didn't listen to what our inner voice was shouting in our ear? How many hours have we spent in school, struggling to craft some stellar career that gets the family and society check mark….when all our gut ever wanted to do was paint portraits of the mountains?
Maybe it took that heart attack to get us out of the job we hated and onto the beach. Or, who have we hired, based on their hot-shot resume and list of “enviable connections”….even when something was “off”……and they turned out to beat their kids or steal your money.
How many of us have gotten married anyway? The big day came. And, we ignored the rotten socks in our stomachs and we bit the bullet to save face. How’d that work out?
To ignore our core is to chip away at our very life force. Our unique, God-given center of gravity loses the battle with a false sense of “doing the right thing”. Nothing will EVER be the right thing if it is fundamentally wrong from our core nature.
All I know is whenever I have tried to talk myself out of myself and into someone or something else—when I ignored my core/gut, boy, was I sorry later.
And yet, how often do we try to silence our core instinct? If you know someone who needs to strengthen their self-esteem or who seems lost in making decisions about school, work, or relationships….chances are good that they are in deep need of a core workout. Maybe even you are that person right now. We’ve all been there.
So, here’s a challenge. I don’t know why the idea of really listening to our innermost intuitions and then sticking up for ourselves is such a workout. But for me it is. You may be like me, it makes me sweat just thinking about it. You too?
Here’s an exercise in strengthening, not only our gut reactions to things but in our ability to speak up for ourselves.
THE NEW CORE CHALLENGE
FOR THE NEXT 30 DAYS
+ What if you just totally trusted your gut WITHOUT any second-guessing?
+ What if you decided to be fascinated with whatever comes up?
+ What if you took action without explanation or apology?
Not to Worry….Help Is On The Way
I have a friend who is so good at this daily exercise of not only honoring her gut but also speaking up…..that I asked her to coach me with words that would aid the muscle-building process. Here’s what she offered:
Without embellishment, when your inner warning bells are blaring, say…
“Let me consider this and get back to you.”
OR
“I just don’t get a YES to that”.
Period. No more yammer or back-peddling. End of discussion. Be prepared. The few times you try this you may feel like you have a booger hanging from your nose, based on the shocked look you will get back. You may also find yourself witness to a birth—of the pregnant pause. Keep on keeping on though.
Because, here’s the payoff….you will be at the threshold of personal peace and self-respect for your own well-being both physically and mentally. What would less inner chatter and self-talk...incessantly weighing the pros and cons, feel like to you? What kind of freedom would it feel like to not be at war with yourself? How self-confident and emotionally strong would it make you feel to commit to a steady diet of going with your gut?
For so many of us, recognizing, then acting upon our innate intuition IS a new muscle to exercise. Honoring our own core strength. Building our commitment and purpose….to live the life that is right….for us.
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