“My Body is my Temple,” is the phrase on my 2015 vision board.

When we think about a temple we think about something that is well taken care of and sacred. I have been focusing on my health since I moved to Los Angeles, but really started to make better strides toward it these past three years. My eating habits were the first to improve, followed by an inconsistent workout regime. I have done well to start a habit, but maintaining the habit gets hard when work gets busy or stressful. I often choose comfort and sleep over working out.

“My Body is my Temple” is an empty phrase, because I haven’t built my life around it’s truth.

When I was a preteen I missed a week of school because I stretched myself too thin and was sick with borderline bronchitis / pneumonia. When I was healthy again, I picked up at my normal pace, got sick again and missed an additional week of school. Since then I always pay attention to my body and rest when it needs it. This time around it is not enough. The difference between junior high was that I was really involved so I know how to manage my energy. When it comes to stress at work, I have yet to really utilize all the tools to minimize my stress levels. My final week on the show that I just wrapped, I planned to detox for the month which would include, rest, working out, eating healthier and meditating daily.

This week I haven’t really done anything but meditate once, attend yoga once and then rest for the rest of the time because I’ve been sick. Getting sick has created the space for me to listen and honor my body at a weak time so I can be kind to it, and when I do get my health back, not push myself based a standard. This is a whole lifestyle change that I want to make with my mind, body and soul and so it will be process. The first process is building foundation and mind set that works for me.

I have never been so committed to my health, like I am right now. There are a lot of people in my industry that do not take care of themselves. I don’t want to follow suit. I don’t know why, but I am afraid to do this because it will be stripping away at the one thing that has been consistent to me and that is my weight. I was made fun of a lot as a girl for my weight, which is where my silence started. At times those words pop up and it creates resistance within me. Working on this fear, will make it easier to put myself out there more. Standing out for me has always been a place of judgement too.

In seeking to master my being, I need to master my mind too.

Part of this goal is to cut the false chains between what I have been told and what I know to be true. I don’t want to be model thin, but I want to be fit and have more energy. I don’t want to choose comfort and sacrifice my overall health anymore. I deserve more.

In The Mastery of Love, Don Miguel Ruiz says that if we love our life and are grateful for it, we show our gratitude to the universe by taking care of our body.

I am beyond grateful for my life and I want to show the universe I appreciate my life by nurturing myself more. For the month of November, I will focus on my health and seek to find a workout balance that includes cardio, weight lifting and yoga, plush daily meditation and more fresh and organic foods. I’m intrigued where this path will lead.