You are incredibly powerful.

You are so powerful that the very stories you tell yourself about yourself change the chemistry and physiology of your body.

Now, to be clear, the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves are usually quite unconscious. But they have a deep impact on us, nonetheless.

For example, you could be telling yourself the “I’m unlovable” story.

Feel that statement in your body – I am unlovable.

Then let all the proof you’ve come up with to reinforce that statement come front of mind.

Feel how all of it makes you want to collapse in on yourself and hide. Feel how it makes you want to harden a bit on the outside to defend against any additional incoming proof that you are, indeed, unlovable.

Then imagine that same thing happening on a cellular level.

The chemistry of “unlovability” runs through your whole body as you run that story through your mind. There is no separation between body and mind, after all.

Just as the feeling of being unlovable affects your posture, it does the same to your body at a microscopic level. It makes the walls of each of your cells become rigid, and the receptors on each of your cells guarded, contracted inward, and even collapsed.

It sets off a pro-inflammatory response throughout your body and attacks your immune system. Over time it will lead to the breakdown of your body from the microscopic level up.

This puts our self-talk and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves in a very different light.

Now, for contrast’s sake, let’s imagine you started telling yourself the “I’m so grateful” story.

“I’m so grateful for my body, and my health. I’m so grateful for the energy and creativity that flows through me. I’m so grateful for the supportive relationships in my life. I’m so grateful for the beautiful spaces I get to spend time in.”

Can you feel the shift in your body’s posture? The same is happening to your body’s chemistry and physiology when you tell yourself a different and better feeling kind of story.

Just as your posture relaxes and opens up, so will your circulation, digestion, and respiration. On a microscopic level, your cells become more receptive. The chemistry of your body shifts into a life-giving, life-sustaining state.

It’s amazing what a simple shift in the story you tell yourself can do.

I share this with you NOT because I want you to go around telling yourself a story that isn’t true.

The last thing I want you to do is convince yourself that everything is wonderful (when it’s not!), and you have so much you should be grateful for (when you are struggling with your health, your relationships, and more).

Telling yourself to be positive amidst all of that is, in a very real way, telling yourself to just “suck it up” because “it’s not that bad”.

I DO NOT advocate remaining in any circumstance that you have to keep talking yourself into or convincing yourself that so many people have it worse. Because that is an example of gaslighting yourself, which is keeping you in an intolerable situation.

I share this with you to help you recognize there are MANY things that have a distinct and indelible impact on your body and your health.

On a physical level, we need to pay attention to the quality of what we are eating, how much water we are drinking, how much sleep we are getting, and moving our bodies in ways that feel good to us.

These are the building blocks of incredible vitality and health that just about every health practitioner will repeat to you again and again.

But these practices that center the health of your physical body are ONLY the beginning.

There isn’t enough kale in the world that will make up for the self-deprecating stories you are telling yourself about yourself.

You can’t sleep enough to overcome the negative impact that pretending to like something (when you actually abhor it) has on your body.

There aren’t enough green smoothies on this planet to help your body overcome a toxic relationship that is hurting you.

As you become more conscious of the stories you tell yourself about yourself, you can bring more awareness to how those stories are affecting your vitality. And you can choose to rewrite them.

You hold the pen that is writing your story.

You may not be able to change what has already happened in your life, but you can alchemize the story you are telling yourself about your past. This can transform your health for the better in the present.

This is a powerful aspect of elevating your health that is seldom talked about. But it has the potential to change the trajectory of your health and your life  in profound and beautiful  ways.

PS: This is what the Awakened Alchemist is here to assist you with. She is one of the 5 Self-Honoring Woman Archetypes. When you are ready, she will help you rewrite your story into a magnificent masterpiece where all of you can thrive.