You Don't Have to Be Slim to Love Your Belly

I can think of a few reasons why you should love your belly:

• In many cultures a big belly is seen as a sign of prosperity.
• Guys like soft bellies to lie on.
• So do many women. (We don't care about six-packs. Guys do.)
• Buddha was a wise guy and look at his belly!
• Ever seen anyone rub the Buddha's belly in a Chinese restaurant for luck?

In Japan, the belly (hara) is seen as the source of spiritual strength.The word hara refers both to the belly and to the qualities of character that emerge as a person activates the life force concentrated in the belly. A "person of hara" is one who lives with creativity, courage, confidence, purpose, integrity, and endurance. Even in English, someone who is "gutsy" is thought to be brave, adventureous, earthy and in touch with their instincts.

In the yogic energy system, both the solar plexus chakra (life force) and the sacral chakra (creativity, sexuality) are located in the belly. All twelve primary acupuncture meridians are, according to Chinese medicine, energetically connected to the abdomen in some way. Physically, most of our organs are in the abdominal cavity as well. (A book I read written by an SAS guy suggested rolling into a ball as a defence when getting beaten up. I hope never to have to use this knowledge, just as I don't really want to use the V-strike on anybody.)

One way to honour and learn to love your belly is through hara massage. A self-massage of the stomach will bring fire to the belly (for both men and women!) and is deeply relaxing and grounding.

How to give yourself a hara massage

• Spend a few minutes doing deep abdominal breathing. As you inhale, feel your belly expanding and, as you exhale, feel it fall. Every time you exhale, allow your whole body to relax more and more deeply.
• Gently rub around the outer area of your stomach in a clockwise motion.
• Press gently under the right ribs and then the left.
• Press around the solar plexus in a clockwise motion.
• Press around the sacral chakra area (below the navel).
• Rub the whole stomach region in a clockwise motion.
• Relax with your hands on your abdomen and breathe deeply into your belly.

Deep breathing, hara massage and becoming grounded are of bringing energy to the lower part of the body. This is why, although many advocate doing abdominal massage in the morning, I prefer rubbing my belly in bed before going to sleep. It tends to pull the energy away from the head and into the lower energy centres of the body.

Whether you then choose to go to sleep or engage in other activities is entirely up to you...

Can you think of any other reasons you should love your belly?