This is not your usual healthy lifestyle motivation post.

I've seen plenty of let-me-show-you-my-abs healthy lifestyle motivation posts that left me feeling nonsense. I don't want this to happen to you.

So before you read on, I want to make 3 things perfectly clear:

1. You are a worthy person - regardless of your body shape. Having a healthy body or not - though does greatly influence how you experience your life - does NOT change ANYTHING about your worth. Your worthiness is given. Inherent. Infinite. Untouchable.

2. If you're thinking: "I should really exercise", STOP. That's not true. In fact, you should NOT exercise if you feel that it's something you're supposed to do. Exercise out of obligation and insecurity do more harm to your body and emotion than good.

3. I'm not saying you're supposed to look like me (or any people with toned abs on Instagram.) Each of us has our own healthy natural body shape. This is mine. Yours may be entirely different.

I'm writing this because I want to debunk some myths around having a "healthy lifestyle".

I've worked with several coaching clients who follow the healthy lifestyle and still battle with body insecurity and eating disorder. I myself went through painful episodes of bulimia when I was younger.

I think the "healthy lifestyle movement" if not followed right, could make things worse.

It certainly made it worse for me in the past.

That's why I'm sharing this.

So you can find your own way to feel good in your body and shine.

And please, I advise you (I BEG you!) to NOT turn things I share below into rules.

The moment we turn something into a rule, it becomes the source of self-punishment, frustration, and rebel behaviors.

This is what works for me (which may be different from what the media tells you). I hope you'll find what works for you too.

First of all, my view about having a healthy body is:

It doesn’t matter how you look, it only matters how you feel.

Here are a few things I do to help my body feel vibrant and alive.

7 WAYS TO AWAKEN YOUR BODY’S VITALITY:

1) Listen to my body’s needs

I rely on being in touch with my body sensations rather than a number on the scale. I don't weight myself. I honestly don't know how many kilos I am. The body always speaks to you in sensations. But most of us never live inside our bodies because we’re too busy in our mind. That’s why we lose the ability to intuitively know and do what feels best for our unique bodies.

2) Move in a way that feels good

I exercise 2, 3 times per week. I don't exercise every day. And it's not even very intensive. My favorite is a quick 10-minute yoga or run. I don’t exercise out of obligation. I exercise when I notice my body starts feeling groggy because it isn’t being moved enough.

3) Eat what feels good

Tune into your body sensations and really notice how it feels after each meal.

Many food that feels good in the moment may not feel good 20 minutes after you eat it. If you ever stuffed your face with pizza, you know what I mean.

I don't follow a “diet". I don't count calories. I eat what my body loves eating. For me, it is vegetable, fruits, beans, whole grain, nuts… and occasionally seafood.

Not because “It’s good for you.” But because my body feels light and good afterward.

The same reason goes to why I don’t eat much meat - my body feels heavy afterward and they give me digestive problems.

And I drink A LOT of good old water. Actually, drink almost 1 liter of water upon waking and many along the day when I notice even the slightest signs of dehydration.

4) But let yourself have fun too

I eat fun food - especially when I’m sharing it with people I love. Ice cream, fries, raspberry cheesecake, let’s not forget "ô mai”, and don't you dare move my cheese. I stop eating when the food stops making me feel good.

5) Practice good sleep hygiene

There are many books and researches that prove the incredible healing power of sleep. Sleep literally heals your body, restore your brain cells. That’s Mother Nature decides that we sleep one third of our life.
When you sleep, your subconscious continues working on solving problem. That’s why there’s a phrase “sleep on it.”

I love naps too. I take 20-40 min naps whenever my brain feels like it needs a reboot. Many times I take a question I’m trying to answer with me to bed. When I wake up, voila! the answer appears.

6) Practice mindfulness

I meditate 10-20 min in the morning. I wish I could tell you that I meditate every day. But I don't. No one lives up to their ideal, and that's okay. The key is to keep getting back when you lose your streak.

I liken meditation to mental flossing. Meditation cleanses the trashes that the mind collects during the day. Meditation also helps you get into your body so you listen to what what it needs.

7) My absolute #1 tip to feeling great in my body…

…, and looking great as a natural consequence, has nothing to do with typical “healthy lifestyle” advice.

I let go of the life I don’t want and create the life I want.

I let go of limiting beliefs about myself.

I move in the direction of my soul’s purpose.

In the past, I binged and purged (bulimic), abused alcohol, smoked (not just cigarette), injured my wrist, knee, and neck (over-exercise, yes there’s such a thing) - I did so because they were my escape.

I needed them to cope with a life that wasn’t meant for me, to compensate for my insecurity and the feeling of unworthiness, to numb the existential angst of not following my soul’s purpose.

In my experience, when you follow your soul's purpose, you naturally want to be healthy.

Simply because you love life so much you want to live longer, you want to have the energy to do the work you love, to be with the ones you love.

To be sustainable, healthy habits need to be the natural expression of the love you have for yourself and the gratitude you have for your body.

So the questions I have for you now are:

• What lights you up?

• What does you soul call you to do at this moment?

Go do it! That can be the most healthy thing you can do today for your body.

With so much love,