Why Your Weight Doesn’t Matter
Years ago, when I was struggling to manage what I thought was my weight, I was stuck to the scale, addicted to the number. If I was down a pound, my day would start out on a positive note, however if it had elevated, my day was doomed. Feelings of failure and weakness would overtake my spirit and the rest of my day was determined from that foundation. This would often lead to stress eating which obviously didn’t help for the next days’ date with the scale.
Then, when I started to intuitively practice fascia decompression on my body, I let the scale go. I knew I was feeling lighter, and my clothes were fitting better, so the scale no longer held me in its vice. Months later when I was feeling particularly good, I decided to see how much my weight had dropped. I had gone down a pant size and I was looking leaner and more streamlined, so curiosity got the best of me. I was shocked, my weight hadn’t changed. How could this be?
Over the years my weight has dropped, and quite a bit. However, in the months at the beginning of the journey, my body changed much sooner than the number on the scale. When you change your perspective about weight loss to managing your size and shape, you also change the mindset that can keep you trapped in traumatic behaviours that can cause you to sabotage yourself through stress.
Another thing I also learned from my experience is that the rules of weight loss didn’t seem to apply to me. As much as there were times that stress eating got the best of me, there were many moments in time when I was dieting, working out like a fiend, and my weight and size would increase. This was incredibly traumatic as even when I had the strength to withstand the cravings, change would happen, but not for the better. The 400 sit-ups per day, hours on the stair climber, and multiple push-ups to increase muscle mass so my metabolism would increase, all leaving me more compressed and ballooned, with a belly that felt bloated and toxic.
When this journey began for me, it was in a moment of panic. Struggling to catch my breath, I intuitively dove my hand deep into my belly. As this was the area I hated most, I avoided it like the plague, but I dove deep into the tissue out of desperation for breath. Gratefully, I let out an exhale and knew I found my rhythm. What presented next became a foundational piece of fascia decompression.
I connected to pain, but pain that felt soothing. Not like pain from injury, but pain that existed deep within that I the moment I felt. The first thing it did was calm my nervous system. Wanting to continue with this peaceful sensation, I persisted for a while. The next day, excited to continue this exploration, once done, I felt taller when I stood up, and to my surprise, my bloated belly looked smaller. I was thrilled. This became my new daily practice.
It wasn’t long before change started to take place throughout my body. I also started working on myself in other areas and could see the changes happening before my eyes. I didn’t understand exactly what was happening right away, but the changes were enough to keep me going. This experience became fundamental for me to be able to explain a different perspective – it’s not about weight loss, but size loss and space gain.
Health is about optimal flow. If we have the space in the body required for nutrients to reach every cell, as well as waste and toxins to be efficiently removed, then the body is healthy. It is when there is congestion that we become toxic, and cells become hungry. Congestion creates stagnancy and stagnancy allows dis-ease to flourish.
For us to maintain optimal space, the mechanics of the body need to be addressed. A body aligned supports the space in and around each cell for ease of flow. A body collapsed has areas of blockage and an alignment that strangles the diaphragm. Compression, driven by gravity and unconscious posture and breath, results in areas that become ballooned and toxic. Like a balloon that is squeezed at one end, there is bulging on the opposite side. Just like when the ribcage collapses into the core space from slouching, the belly extends outwards – it has nowhere else to go. Added to this is the toxic environment that results, as congestion slows the flow of all systems and functions . . . even waste removal.
Looking at the belly, it is obvious to see how over time it will expand if you aren’t conscious of posture and breath.
Gravity will win and the downward pull of this force will cause a collapse to the structure, resulting in a bloated belly full of waste, which will also attract parasites and other unwanted critters that will make this space their home, adding only more size to your shape. Ballooning can be seen anywhere in the body where compression occurs. A main pain point for many is knee fat, however,it is the same thing. It’s not fat but ballooning of all the tissue in the area from a compressed joint.
I think the most impactful image is viewed from the back. When the ribcage is allowed to collapse into the core, the back of the body expands. Notice the difference in these 2 pictures. How much more does it look like I weigh when I allow my body to collapse?
When you begin to understand compression, ballooning and the resultant toxicity, suddenly weight loss is seen from a different perspective. When you also understand the value of diaphragmatic breathing and the importance of the exhale, you also have different tools to manage your size and shape, other than the traditional calories in versus energy expenditure. I know, the rules of weight loss didn’t apply to me, however, fascia decompression became a sustainable way to not only change my size and shape, but also manage my health in general.
Bottom line, a spacious body has flow, and a fluid body is healthy. Stagnancy creates dis-ease, causes ballooning of tissue and a toxic environment. When you reframe your thinking, suddenly you look at things differently. When you can see your body from a different perspective, you can take the necessary steps to create the change that you want.
Give it a try, as you gain space, you will lose size!
Listen to this week's episode of The Fascia Masters below.
Breathe & Believe,
Deanna
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