Body Love Rx
When you take an honest look at your relationship with your body, in what ways may you be contributing to your own suffering?
Consider these questions: Are you being kind to your reflection? Are you feeding yourself when you are hungry (not starving or salivating at the mouth—hungry)? Are you getting proper rest, in regards to both sleep and taking time off from exercise to allow your muscles to repair?
If you answered no to even one of the questions above, it’s time to ask yourself another question: Why? I don’t expect you to have the answer to this question immediately, and it may be something you need to take a deeper dive into with a professional, but I do encourage some compassionate curiosity as to why you are treating yourself with anything less than all encompassing love.
To kick start some potential mind shifts, below is my body prescription, developed with care and based on years of both personal and professional experience. I have found that adopting these principals into my life has helped to guide me, more often than not, into a space of peace within my own skin rather than waging an unhealthy war that I will never, ever win. As always, take what works and leave the rest.
Body mantra: Working with a specific mantra and repeating it as often as is necessary can be really helpful when that inner critic creeps up and starts to hijack what-was-once-a-perfectly-nice day. From the moment we came out of the womb, we have been spoon fed (no pun intended) information, on over-drive, about what our body should look like. Only a very (very) small percentage of us fit into that teeny tiny box. We never had a fighting chance! We never got an opportunity to decide for ourselves what we thought was beautiful. Now is as good a time as any to claim your voice and choose (yes, it is a choice- how empowering!) to view life through a more diverse and welcoming lens. Start with a mantra that speaks to your soul. Anything from “I embrace my body jiggle” to “ My body is strong and stable” to “My body serves me every day in many ways.” Every time that critic turns up the volume, your mantra will be there to guide you back to a more grounded and peaceful place.
Laugh and allow: I used to spend a lot of time comparing my body to other people’s bodies. Guess what? It made me a miserable human being who was stuck and sick for a really long time. What I have found to be the most freeing of practices is observing, laughing and allowing. When I see someone who has a body I think I want (read: I was told I was supposed to have), instead of comparing, I celebrate their beauty. And then, in a fascinating turn of events, I celebrate myself. I laugh and remind myself that the bod I’ve got is the one that I was given. Yep, this is mine. All mine! How can I love on it today? How can I nourish it today? And finally: how can I focus my energy on the 1,000,000 other things in my life that are far more important than the size of my body?
Rest and respect: Check-in with your body and notice what it needs. Are you overdoing it in the exercise arena? Are you giving yourself permission to do more than usual because life is boring and there is less to do these days (full disclosure: I have had to ask myself this question over the past few months)? Consider this alternative scenario: if you were drinking a 6-pack every night because life is boring and there is less to do, would you give yourself a free pass? Me thinks not. So when it comes to your body, it’s imperative to remember that without rest and recovery comes the potential for long term damage. Let your body rest.
Desensitize yourself: If you are spending time on social media looking at 5’10 models with big boobs and firm butts, it is highly likely that you are perpetuating your own experience of body shame. Slowly step away from the social media. Can you consider the following:
A 3-day detox: no need to delete your accounts, just delete the apps from your phone. Feel a wave of fear…followed by a sense of freedom. 72 hours. That’s it. Check-in with yourself at the start and finish to assess the difference. It may be more dramatic than you anticipate.
Curate your space: Look at your social media feed and start to add and edit. Is it necessary to follow accounts that leave you feeling less than? Open your eyes to women, men and transgender people of different sizes, shapes, colors, backgrounds, belief systems. Follow people who are different from you. When we start to look at our differences and appreciate them, we begin to perceive beauty through a bigger and brighter lens.
Some great resources:
Body positive Instagram Accounts for Teens *It’s not just for teens. This list is inspiring and the messages are meaningful and necessary.
The Body Is Not An Apology *This link will take you to the website where you can find heaps of information on on body love—namely radical self-love, as author Sonya Renee Taylor, calls it. I also highly recommend reading the book.
Find some more tips on body love from me here.
Use this prescription as needed. Serious side effects may include freedom from self-judgment, increase in self-love, decrease in body shame and overall increase in happiness. Other side effects may include time (that was once spent obsessing, picking and pulling apart apperance, etc) to focus on more important matters.