My body is my temple?

[01011010]

The body is not just a vehicle for one's brain.

I disagree.

My brain is exactly why I feed my body healthy food and exercise.

 

[Haphazard]

I dunno, there seems to be a difference between taking care of one's self and 'taking care' of one's self for vanity, mostly because vanity seems to make you go overboard and do things that may make you look good but actually be bad for you.

I dunno. I believe that you have to be able to take care of yourself before you take care of others, so taking care of yourself physically is definitely included in that.

 

[Amargith]

I dunno, there always seem to be more important things to do, things to learn, things to take care of, others to help, etc. And when I do get to that point where I've done it all, I'm...too lazy and too tired to do something for myself. Running a bath, having a facial, doing my nails..it all sounds awesome, till I'm lying very comfy on a couch and try to relax after my brain has burned itself out and have no desire to even give it another thought.

I also recognize this:

I must admit that I have the same symptoms as your mom but there is a different root cause... I'm not really into taking care of myself... usually through forgetfulness... I don't really wear much make up ... usually because I don't seem to have much time... My clothes are a little mismatched usually cs I never have things that match ready and prepapred at the same time.. my hair doesn't get much work either.. I keep it long so that I can work the whole carefree look HAHAHAHAHA... I don't anticpate having to take more care of myself as I get older though... I am lucky at the moment that I have gotten away with abusing my body the way I have... as I have not really looked after it all with what I have put into it either... oh dear this thread is making me depressed

The thing is...all I do is disappoint myself when I don't get around to taking care of myself..and I'll do it later on someday (I do get around to sometimes a facial, and take care of my hair pretty well coz otherwise it becomes unmanagable). If I drop other things in favor for this though, I end up disappointing others often, and that I'm not ok with. I'm notorious for doing this with work-outs, as a) you need to make sure you haven't eaten recently to work out (at least I do, or it hurts) and b) it takes up an hour or longer of your time, plus showering and getting dressed, meaning that you're really need to time it out well, something I suck at, otherwise your other responsibilities get pushed, and those come first. So I often just drop it as it's not worht the hassle, although I do love dancing.

 

[Tiltyred]

I push myself to stay well groomed; in fact, grooming habits are the only habits I really have -- in the same way that I brush my teeth every morning, I do a facial and a manicure and pedicure and a whole body exfoliation every Sunday, get my eyebrows waxed and my hair cut once a month on the 1st payday of the month. I do a night cream before bed, shave my legs every morning in the shower, and put on a little makeup on every morning. Every morning I take a multivitamin, and glucosamine/condroitin and MSM at night, get my pap smear in the month of my birthday, get my teeth cleaned and checked every six months, try to eat five vegetables and three fruits a day. Exercise ... well, not so much. Some yoga when I think of it. It'll have to do. I was very athletic growing up, and now I have so much arthritis it hurts to move, so I don't, basically. I have to plan activities carefully. I hate all this stuff, and it doesn't help any if I get salon services instead of doing it myself -- it's all chores to me, whether I'm painting my toenails or sitting around waiting while someone else does it. Same thing with clothes -- I hate clothes shopping -- mostly I know what sizes I wear in what brands, and I buy everything on line -- but I try to keep up with my stuff and make sure it's not too obviously worn, faded, picked, etc., and that my shoes are not too worn. It's work; I don't get much pleasure out of any of that. But I can't stand the idea of not having these things done.

My body's more a prison than a temple, but whatever, the floor needs to be swept and the windows washed, right?

Amar, how do you disappoint others if you don't work out?

 

[Amargith]

See, thats what I think. Although I *can* enjoy it if I have nothing else to do. But that's so rare it's often more of an 'oh for f** sake, do I *have* to waste time on this???'

re: disappointed:

No, what I mean is, if I were to scratch other priorities in favor of this, I'd be disappointing others. By being lazy on these 'chores' including working out, the only person I'm disappointing really, is myself. And *that*, I can live with.

 

[Tiltyred]

I think you should try for 15 minutes a day, and at least one 30 minute block per weekend.

 

[Giggly]

I appreciate all input on this topic, though in particular that of ISFJs. Thank you.

Hello.

First I'd like to say that it's completely okay to care about your body. Secondly, many women have fun doing it or just like to look nice.
Thirdly, I can't speak for other ISFJs but I find your mother's attitude odd for an SFJ. SFJ's seem to be the types most concerned with public appearances.

Anyways, I'm fanatical about some things, but not others. For instance, I go out of my way to take care of my skin, teeth, and nails. I think this is mostly due to vanity because it truly does scare me to think of those things going bad and having to go through way more work and pain to get them back under control. I can't say I do the same for my hair though, because it is coloured right now and if I cared that much I wouldn't color it, but I keep it clean, trimmed, and as healthy looking as I possibly can.

One of my hobbies is aromatherapy and I have studied it, so I make my own natural bath, beauty and health products and I use them everyday. It's one of the few simple things in life that makes me happy. If I can splurge, I'll go out and get a professional massage and when I get together with my girlfriends and female family members, we do the whole pampering day at the beauty salon/spa/shopping thing. I enjoy it.

As for what I put in my body, I am not so great in this area and recently I have been feeling guilty about it. I am naturally slender so I don't have to watch what I eat but I easily forget about my insides and how they need to be healthy too. I'm pretty sure that I'm unhealthy right now inside because of the junkfood I eat and I need to do something about that. I might start planning out my meals more. Aside from walking and easy hikes, I don't exercise. I wouldn't mind starting an exercise regime though as long as I don't lose any weight.

As for what I wear.... I'm a woman and I like shoes. Do I have to say more? haha Just kidding. Pretty dresses and skirts are a weakness but mostly I like to dress clean, conservatively, and comfortable everyday, and occasionally get glammed up to go out at night. That is just about the only time I wear make-up too. I think it is important to care about your appearance to a certain degree please don't hurt me for saying that.

Anyways, the key is balance. I do think there is such a thing as too much vanity where all you care about is your appearance and you can't seem to get anything else useful done, but caring about your body and how you look is extremely important too, imho.

 

[Mole]

Gone to the Dogs

They tol' me piety was the last taboo. So I became impious but nothing happened. So I knew they lied to me and piety was not the last taboo.

So casting round in my mind I had the idea that cleanliness was the last taboo. So I thought I would put it to the test.

At first I stopped doing my hair. Then I stopped washing my clothes and cleaning my teeth. And finally I stopped bathing altogether.

The result was dramatic. The ugliest drunk in town told me in front of the poshest church that I smelled and I should take a shower.

This was proof positive for me that I had transgressed the last taboo. And that I was finally free.

Breaking the last taboo had put me outside of society, even the society of drunks.

But the dogs still loved me.

 

[antireconciler]

Thanks for that personal bit there Victor.

I disagree.

My brain is exactly why I feed my body healthy food and exercise.

This is actually interesting, because maybe either perspective turns out the same. Does your brain exist to care for and maintain the body or does your body exist to care of and maintain the brain?

Well, maybe there is a difference here. In one perspective, the things around you exist to serve you, and in the other, you exist to serve the things around you. There is an element of the former which may be endorsed without hubris, and an element of the latter which may be endorsed without self-debasement. However, surely, both perspectives can fall into error, the first, for hubris, the second, for self-debasement.

Caution advised.

But keeping up general maintenance on the body, making sure the muscles are used daily, eating right, keeping the skin and joints in good condition, and taking time out to let it recharge are all the same kinds of things that are done to ensure machines are working efficiently. And while this machine analogy works on some level, we cannot forget that the mind and body are intertwined. So many people who feel good physically will generally feel good mentally and emotionally.

So true. The argument can be made that failing to take care of your own body is in a way, disrespectful to life in general. Just because it is your body, it doesn't mean you can't misuse it. Another way of saying this is, "don't take your body too personally." The body is a temporary privilege.

 

[neptunesnet]

Oh, sorry I forgot to add that my grandpa is an ISFJ and is a lot like your mother.
He cares for everyone else before he cares for himself.

 

[01011010]

Caution advised.

For what exactly?

My body is a tool to navigate life on this planet. My brain is the command center of that body. I take care of it as necessary for optimum function. Nothing more. Nothing less.