While the meals we consume contain calories that covert to energy, when we start to feed ourselves from this input/output perspective, we disconnect from ourselves. We stop listening to the wisdom of our bodies and instead turn to outside sources to tell us how much or how little we should eat (and how much or how little we should move). We think of our bodies as something we need to control or even fear. We then experience guilt when we think we’ve gone off-track. Guilt is a form of regret mixed with a heavy dose of shame. When has it ever served us to shame ourselves? Absolutely never. You don’t need to earn your dinner. You don’t need to work off your dinner. Instead, tune in. What is your body asking for? If if feels good to move, do it for the pleasure of being in a physical form. If it feels good to rest, do that. If it feels good to eat a lavish meal, do it with pleasure. And when you forget to listen to your body (and we all will, sometimes for long periods of time) or if you choose not to listen (because being perfect is f-ing boring) it’s OKAY. If you feel the consequences in your body of over-doing it, or eating foods that don’t agree with you, rather than practice guilt, practice compassion. As my dear friend @amadei_yoga reminds me, compassion is a practice, and it takes practice. If the pattern of guilt starts to creep in, put your hand on your heart and breathe in compassion instead. You can say to your body, “Oof, sorry my dear. This is a little rough on you. We’ll get through it. I love you so much. I’m sorry I wasn’t listening.” And then you move on.