In Nia dance class on Saturday, my instructor, Bill, emphatically said to let myself be guided by joy. Nia is a lively and powerful dance that draws from the martial arts for its moves. The body experiences joy, he said. It’s through the body, this temple that houses the Divine, that we come to learn to live and love fully and deeply. To love life is to embrace the body. Some religions and practices have taught that the body is dirty. Ancient Greek philosophers in particular considered the importance of a healthy body and how it fostered a healthy mind. At the same time they often harbored lowly attitudes about women. Any negative attitudes about the body hinder us from fully enjoying and embracing life. 

When the body is embraced fully as an instrument of the Divine and a way to perform good acts of service it uplifts and creates a positive spirit. Very often we live in our minds intellectualizing and analyzing. We disconnect from the body so much so that we often do not realize we are ill until it is too late and the body is screaming for attention.

This beautiful and precious temple that our spirits dwell in is the only place where we can truly embrace and deeply love the Divine. For today, pay attention and listen. Tune in. What is your body trying to tell you? Does it want less food? More exercise? A deeper and better rest? Vow to give it what it needs and it will house the spirit and give space to a healthy and sound mind.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.