Your body is a mirror for your relationship with the world. The more you are at ease with your body, the more at ease you will be in your relationships, work and all aspects of your life.

The body is a vehicle to your spirit and just like an automobile, the more smoothly and efficiently it functions, the more able you are to enjoy the ride. On the other hand, if your vehicle is always giving you problems and breaking down, it’s difficult to relax and enjoy the ride. Let’s equate this to our everyday lives.

It is crucial to feel yourself in your body, including your aliveness, energy and physicality. This is the start of treating your body as a friend and closest ally. This requires you to check in with your body frequently – to feel it, sense it and notice it – so that you can find out how it is doing, what it has to tell you and what it may need.

Isn’t it amazing how the body reflects what is happening in your life? When some individuals become depressed, they turn towards food as a coping method. Chances are they’re not reaching for the bag of carrots but rather the pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Some people even become influenced by television, and how they portray the “perfect” person to be a size zero, with small noses and high cheekbones. Well, like most who go through life’s challenges, individuals conform to what society accepts, like plastic surgery. Because we get caught on the superficial well-being of ourselves, we inadvertently hurt our bodies in the process.

These days it’s a challenge to stay in tune with our bodies, given the many things and situations that divert our attention from ourselves. Although we’re constantly bombarded with the stimuli that grab our awareness, we must balance them in varying degrees in order to be able to properly function in the world. There are several exercises that can be done that will help you to focus on the well-being of your body.

Yoga, meaning to join or unite, is an excellent exercise for not only the physical body, but also the spiritual, emotional and mental parts. With regular practice, one can attain peace of mind as well as great focus and concentration. There are four paths to yoga: Karma, Bhakti Jnana, and Raja, all having different meanings and focuses that ensure peace of mind. This breathing and stretching exercise is a great form of self-meditation.

Today with our busy lifestyles and hectic schedules, we don’t set enough time aside for ourselves. We often forget who we are and what our purpose in life may be. With the consumption of poor diets and no exercise routine, we put unnecessary stresses on our bodies in all facets.

The use of yoga at least 20 minutes a day can help to relieve built up tension and stress. Yoga has produced known benefits such as an increase in lung capacity and respiration, loss of body weight, improvement of ability to resist stress, and decrease in cholesterol and blood sugar levels, all yielding a new and more revitalized you.