What Have You Budgeted for the Body That Carries You?

How much is too much to spend on the upkeep of your body?

People will justify spending on just about everything else. Our homes, our cars, our hair, our nails. But when it comes to maintaining and realigning the body that hosts our soul, suddenly we hesitate.

I will do it next month.
I don’t have the time.
Let me take care of everything else first.

But what about the body carrying you through everything else?

When you meet someone who overstands the real meaning of alignment and getting a tune-up, they aren’t always speaking about their cars or material things. They are working on themselves. Making space to become the best version of who they can be.

For me, that means caring for both my physical and metaphysical body. Listening, realigning, and making room for the practices that help me feel connected to myself. In my spiritual language, it is raising my frequency and reaching for my highest potential daily.

This way of thinking has been with me since childhood. I didn’t even know to call these words affirmations in those days, but they have been shaping my thoughts and choices throughout my life:

Good, better, best.
Never let it rest,
Until your good is better
And your better best.

The other:

A quitter never wins, and a winner never quits.

Sounds simple to say. But to live these words is to keep reaching for the best you, in all circumstances, no matter how dark. For me, that has meant learning, maintaining, upgrading, and reinventing myself along the way. It has also meant learning that rest and receiving support are part of continuing.

Often, when I meet people, their back is already thrown out of alignment, as they describe it. The sciatic pain is already affecting their walk. They can’t bend comfortably, can’t sleep comfortably, and now even the simplest movements are a struggle.

By the time they call, things have gone far beyond “I need a little tune-up.”

Now we have to make time. Now we have to find the money. The body has interrupted everything else we thought could not wait.

This is what I want people to overstand.

You service your car. You hear a strange sound and take it to the mechanic. You know what can happen if you keep driving without maintenance. Yet we will push our bodies through pain, exhaustion, and every warning we can feel, saying, “I’ll deal with it later.”

Then later comes, and we can barely move.

When you come to me at that point, I see how much you are hurting. The work requires more care, more patience, and sometimes assessment and treatment beyond what my hands can offer.

And sometimes, after finding some relief, you go right back to the same habits. No space for rest. No regular care. Everything and everyone comes first again.

Then you call, and I have to watch you suffering again.

That part touches me. Because I want more for you than this cycle of pushing through, breaking down, getting some relief, and pushing through again.

I cannot promise that regular massage or yoga will prevent every injury or illness. But I am asking: why must we wait until the body is crying out before we give it our attention?

Since 1998, another mantra has accompanied me:

Pain multiplied by resistance equals suffering.

For me, this has meant allowing myself to feel what I feel, noticing the resistance, and practising letting it go. It is a personal practice, never a judgment on anyone else’s pain. Listening to the body also means knowing when to seek help.

I invite you to make massage, yoga, meditation, and the healing practices that speak to you part of your life. Be open to receiving hands-on energy work if it is meaningful to you. Make room for sleep, nourishment, quiet time, and appropriate medical care too.

Put caring for yourself in your monthly budget, like you do your hair, your nails, your phone, and your car. Whatever your means allow, begin there. A massage. A yoga class. Time to stretch, breathe, rest, or receive hands-on healing. Even when money is tight, protect some time to care for yourself.

This body is the home hosting your soul. What kind of attention are you giving that home?

As I return to California, with sessions and events available for booking November 4–11, I am bringing this conversation with me. Through massage, yoga, meditation, and my Book & Wellness Experience, I invite you to pause and reconnect.

My book, Strip to the Naked Truth, is also part of that invitation: to look honestly at ourselves, what we carry, and how we choose to live from here.

When you look at your monthly budget, care for your body may just be the main line item you have forgotten.

With love,
Subhadra