The theology of my body: Starting from scratch

Well...not really. Over the last few years, I've written a few posts about the theology of my body and what that means in the greater context of my life and spirituality. The original post I made about the subject, funny enough, was exactly six years ago today. At the time, I tried to string together some disparate ideas on selfhood and exercise so that I could tell people I was starting P90X. Another post was about dancing in church. Another about eating organic food.

I think I missed the point each time. I was going somewhere when I wrote about the dualism we often impose on conversations about physicality and spirituality, as though the spirit and the body are separate entities. As I think back over the years of my struggle with weight and body image, I am more convinced than ever that much of my spiritual and emotional well-being is rooted in how I encounter my physicality.

In the past, when I've begun a journey toward physical well-being, I have done so divorced from my spiritual well-being. Even though I have been somewhat conscious of the connection, I've mostly ignored it. So this time, I'm trying something different. Yes, I'm eating right and exercising (maintaining a hyper-awareness of both thanks to my new Apple Watch), but I'm also digging into how taking care of my body helps me to take better care of my spirit.

I'm not going to be one of those people who regularly posts about milestones in my fitness journey. It's not because I don't want to celebrate (or humble brag), but more that I am still navigating what this is going to look like. This post is as much a mile marker as a proclamation. Hopefully I'll look back on May 25, 2022 and see that I actually followed through (instead of making it three weeks into P90X before quietly quitting in disgrace). Maybe along the way this time I'll discover a more wholistic version of spiritual presence intertwined in being conscious of my physicality. 

I'm going to try a lot of things beyond just eating better though. I'm going to experience yoga, pilates, meditation, tea ceremonies, and proper sleep. I'm also using the Daily Office as a guide at mealtimes, using morning and evening prayer to establish a spiritual consciousness before the meals that follow them. This is an experimental journey with no real endpoint in sight (though I know what some of my physical goals are, I do not have a timetable for them). But as I walk along this path, I hope to come to a more full understanding of what the theology of my body really is. 

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