How are you speaking to yourself…

I have been trying to write this blog for about a week now. I would write a paragraph or two and then step away because it just wasn’t flowing the way I thought it should. I wanted to write this helpful post to support my community but I just couldn’t get it right and I was frustrated. After I took another break from it this weekend, I realized what was missing. I was not sharing and being authentic. I was not being real with you guys. I can’t expect you to trust me with your health journey and your story, if I don’t trust you with mine.

So let’s talk about how we are treating and speaking to and about our bodies. This is a sensitive topic as it usually taps into our deepest and darkest insecurities.

When you stand in front of the mirror, where does your eye go first? Where do you zero in all your hate, disgust and frustration? What do you say and how do you treat yourself?

For me, that spot has always been my stomach. I can’t tell you the number of times I cursed those soft rolls and folds. How I convinced myself that if I could just get rid of them, then I would be worthy. Worthy of a dream life, wardrobe, relationship. If only I could get my diet perfect and workout a little harder I would get the flat stomach that I coveted. I was surrounded everywhere in my day to day life with images of “ideal” bodies and workouts and diet programs that promised the secret to achieving this goal. I fell for them all. There are very few diet or exercise programs that I haven’t tried and surprisingly none of them worked.

Then I got tired. Tired of beating myself up and waiting to go after my dreams and live my life until I hit this imaginary goal. Tired of trying to force my body into a form it was not meant to have. Just tired of all the bullshit.

There are some amazing people doing some wonderful things in the world of body positivity. I am starting to fill my social media feed with more images and messages of diversity, and seeing that what’s great is the wide array of bodies in this world. One of my favorites is Megan Jayne Crabbe, @bodyposipanda on Instagram (if you aren’t following her I definitely recommend you do).

This is an exercise I am borrowing from her, and it is something that she talks about more in her book, Body Positive Power. Such an incredible read. This is an activity that I do regularly, especially when I am having a tough/down day.

Close your eyes and picture the body part or area that you struggle with, maybe that’s your belly, the cellulite on your thighs, or the wiggle in your arms, or if you feel brave look at yourself in a mirror. No more pulling, poking or roughly squeezing that area. No more rude comments, no more swearing at it to just shrink down and go away.

I want you to say out loud or better yet write down, 3 things you are grateful for about that particular area. There are positives and you can find them if you just train yourself to stop looking at your body through the lens of not enoughness (yes, that’s a new word). Try touching your belly, legs, arms gently. Speak to yourself and all your parts as if they are the most precious items in the world (because they are). What surprises you most when you shift from the negative to the positive?

For the next week I challenge you to do this everyday. Keep your focus on the same part or change as you go throughout the week, the choice is yours. I just want you to start treating yourself and your body as the amazing miracle that it is.