The 6th activity in the Am I Hungry? 7-day Mindful Self-Care Challenge is Love, Your Body. It was written by Camille Schwartz, who was our Communications Intern.
Learning to love your body
For many people, the scale measures not only the weight of their bodies, but the years of feeling insecure and ashamed about their body’s shape and size, and the progress of their latest diet.
During an Am I Hungry? Eat Mindfully, Live Vibrantly Retreat, tissues were passed around the room as participants reflected on their past struggles with their body image and the toll it has taken on their sense of self-worth.
To confront this body bashing self-talk, Dr. Michelle May reminded us that our body can “hear” our self-talk. She asked us to write a letter from our body to ourselves to express our body’s feelings, thoughts, and needs about what we say to ourselves about it. The letter began with “Dear (your name),” and ended with “Love, Your Body.”
This helped us shift from feeling that we are separate from our bodies and accept that our bodies deserve to be respected, nourished, and loved at any size and shape. Michelle reminded all of us that “We care for the things we care about.”
Afterward, several of the participants shared their letters with the rest of us. Brenda, an upbeat and deeply compassionate “older” woman tearfully read her body’s letter:
Dear Brenda,
You know when all is said and done, I’ve done a pretty good job for you. I’ve been healthy, generally strong, and I’ve supported you through all of your many “weights.” I’ve put up with your hundreds of crazy diets and still kept going and managed, somehow, not to be the worse for it.
And yes, I’m now a bit wrinkly, more than a bit jiggly, and I know I’m not always pretty to look at in places, but I’m still you, I’m still working for you, and really, taking pretty darn good care of you when you think about it — so give me a break!
Appreciate what I do for you and do some nice things for me!
You didn’t appreciate me when you were young. You were so busy trying to be thinner that you forgot to notice how pretty I actually was then – how strong and firm my skin was – you were just critical! What a shame, what a waste!
So now, please appreciate me and take care of me as we grow old together.
Love,
Your Body
Brenda’s letter was a powerful reminder to every person in the room that time spent criticizing our body is time wasted. Her words reminded us that we must seize each moment and share gratitude for the incredible beauty and functionality of our bodies whatever our shape, size, or weight.
She reminded us our bodies have always been there for us and we owe them the same level of respect. And most of all, Brenda wanted the rest of us to learn from her experience and make this shift now so we wouldn’t waste another moment.
After hearing Brenda’s letter and reflecting on the exercise, Michelle explained that “a more deserving use of energy is learning to eat fearlessly and mindfully in order to fuel the vibrant lives we crave and deserve.”
It is my hope that with time, practice, and love I can begin to truly internalize the wisdom of these words.
Reflect on your body talk
What do you tell your body? When you listen to your body, what does it want you to know?
Enjoyed this article? Here are three more that you might find helpful:
Hate the Scale? Begin to Love Your Body Instead
Ending internalized weight stigma
“I want my body back!” Then stop weight cycling!