Peace in the Body

Last week was the official *Eating Disorder Awareness Week*.  I somehow missed the memo on that and yet I believe so strongly that conversations around this epidemic need to be happening year-round, not just during a designated week.  

The topics of disordered eating and body image are rampant amongst women beginning from a very young age.  I have shared snippets of my own journey through a debilitating eating disorder, which began at the ripe age of 7, over these past many years. An eating disorder, and subsequent addictions, that landed me in a residential treatment center when I was 23-years old.

The most empowering and humbling choice that I had ever made in my life and truly changed the trajectory of my entire existence from that point forward.

Today I wanted to talk a little about body image and cultivating peace in our bodies, which directly translates into tapping into that well of peace in our lives.  This sharing is an excerpt from my in process book:  The Path of the Warrior Woman:  Building Resilience and Strength from the Inside Out (my goal is to have it complete by the end of 2022!).  

How we feel in our bodies has a direct correlation to how we feel in our lives. Yet, that doesn’t mean that we are walking around *pain-free*, in perfect shape, no tweaks or rolls or cellulite, amazing digestion, in exact alignment, and a seamless body image…..

What this means is that we can cultivate the capacity to breathe into ourselves, into our skin, no matter what we may be experiencing in our physical bodies.  We can melt into the spaciousness of peace, calm, ease, and aligned empowerment in exactly where we are in any given moment.  

We can live a life of peace in midst of the struggles, pangs, and uncertainty of this human life.  

Our capacity to cultivate a sense of peace in our lives is directly related to our experience from deep within our bodies and how we choose to relate to that experience.  

When we are at war with our bodies, which tragically an infinite amount of women are on this wild path of Warriorship, peace may feel elusive.  

We become so swept up in, consumed by, dictated to our compulsions and addiction, and the tugs of beliefs, behaviors, and actions….that, to turn within and cultivate that experience of peace in the body feels to be impossible.

Yet, subtle and simple shifts in our dialogue with, connection to, and treatment of, can provide profound shifts in our capacity to cultivate that authentic and sustaining shift in our levels of peace within.  

This directly translates to that empowered, resilient, strong, capable, easeful, soft, and fierce sense of peace in our lives.  

So, what are the components of a healthy body image?

To me, there are 3 main categories or aspects of cultivating and sustaining a productive and positive relationship with your body and it’s beautiful shape:

1.  Permission:  Giving permission, allowing ourselves to feel good is a tremendous component of the peace-making process. Allowing ourselves to breathe into our skin, feel pleasure in our bodies, and being willing to change the habitual storyline and have a new conversation. A dialogue that is embracing and honoring and accepting this human form of being a woman in our natural body shape.  It requires a willingness to repeatedly come back to that space of possibility and permission….to drop the struggle and open to the beauty and grace.

2.  Perspective and Choice:  Remembering the power of CHOICE in every moment is a profound shift in perspective. Bringing yourself back to the place of inquiry….Is this how you really want to spend your precious life force energy?  Is that what's most important in life? Encouraging yourself to take a birds eye view of  your life, of the world around you, of this fleeting life that we all have been given. Is this how you want to focus your energy and time? Again, remember the power of CHOICE in every single moment of every day.

3.  Presence/Not punishment: Bringing our full attention and presence to our movement, our food intake, and for how we nourish ourselves on the whole is key. Noticing when we are feeling judgmental and punishing towards ourselves and gently guide our thoughts back to a place of loving kindness. A place of presence. Small shifts in this realm add up to massive ones. Repeat repeat repeat.

Remember, awareness is key to changing anything.

I offer you the below questions for self-inquiry and suggest that, if you are struggling in this realm to spend some time pondering and journaling.

•  Where are the gaps in your relationship to your body?

•  What are the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that you regularly experience in your body?

• Can you notice in yourself when you become agitated, uncomfortable, chaotic, and disconnected in your life on the whole?  What’s happening in your body when you are having that experience?

Pay attention to all of what is being revealed to you and see if you can consistently to choose peace.  

To choose calm.  

To choose LOVE.  

Does this message resonate for you?  I literally spent decades of my life in this state and it is excruciating and incredibly diminishing.  There IS another way. 

I would be honored to be of support to you on your journey!  

HERE is a link to schedule a 20-Minute Clarity Call to dive into what you may be needing at this juncture.