When I first moved to Michigan, I lived on this small, organic farm about 15 miles outside of Midland. I arrived with no job, no friends, no resources and no specific plans for the future other than to build that future with my current partner. We had moved together from Seattle.
Needless to say, it was a big transition. And, naturally, my body experienced the repercussions of that transition. I didn't expect such extreme changes in my diet and level of activity. I gained about 15 pounds in just a couple of months. When I think about that now, I think, of course. It was a dramatic shift in lifestyle. I went from practicing yoga daily and walking everywhere I went, to barely moving my body at all and staying in a tiny cabin most of the day while my partner was working in the field. Even though it was normal for my body to shift like that, and even though I knew it was temporary, I still panicked. I anxiously examined myself in the mirror each morning, looking for any changes in my body. Why was I so worried? What exactly was I looking for? And then it dawned on me. I was checking to see if I was still lovable. I thought that if my body changed, my value changed. I thought that if I wasn't a certain weight/didn't look a certain way, I wasn't worthy of being loved anymore. It made me sad to think that this was how I thought about myself, but when I became aware of what was happening, I was empowered to choose a different way. Since then, I have developed a variety of sustainable practices that help me to keep my worth and my appearance untethered. Whenever I catch myself linking my lovability to my looks, I think of that farm, that cabin, that transition time in my life, and I smile and say, "I'm free from that now." Looking for practical techniques to find and sustain that freedom? That's what Love Body is about. We know you are lovable. We want to support you in recognizing and rejoicing in your inherent worth. We want to support you in loving your body through a sustainable practice, a practice of awareness, knowledge and action. We welcome you to join us for our workshop on February 1st, where we will be making the Love Body practice available for the very first time. Can't join us? Stay tuned for more Love Body wisdom on an upcoming podcast episode withe the 9 and 10 news! We'll send out a link when it's available. Like what you see? Subscribe to free Weekly Wisdom Updates below.
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