LightenUp: Every mind, every body.

Lately I have been practicing self care as a priority in my life.  Who knew such a small change could have such a profound impact?  I used to exercise and try to eat well because I thought I should or needed to.  Now I choose to do things like yoga, pilates and personal training sessions because I WANT to.  Self care has been about listening to my body more, making choices for my health because I care enough about me to take positive action to feel better and be healthier.  By default this has led me to a place where I have changed my body for the better.  In fact I am surprised at the number of people that are commenting on the positive changes - often saying that I look like I have lost weight, or more muscular.  The reality is that I have only lost about 2 kilos but my body has changed.  I have built up muscle and shifted some body fat which changes the how I look.  I absolutely love the feeling of being strong as this boosts my belief in myself.  The point of all this is that I have made these changes by losing the 'shoulds' and not forcing myself to do stuff, but instead doing the things I love, eating the foods that I enjoy that I know are healthy for me, getting more rest and taking more time to relax.  And this has made all the difference!