I made this “challenge” up based on something that happened to me recently. I have no idea if it’s an actual thing, but I think it might be an important exercise for everyone to try.
I stumbled onto Emily Fletcher and her book, “Stress Less, Accomplish More,” through a fitness guru I follow. She has founded what is known as the Ziva Meditation practice. Buying her book gave me access to some bonus audio recordings, one of which was a guided visualization for healing. I got my wisdom teeth removed about two months ago and started listening to it after that to go to sleep. However, one of the sentences in her introduction was giving me trouble. She asked me to think in my mind about three things I love about my body.
I came up blank every time. I spent a month and a half trying to come up with something I loved about my body. This led me to believe I have body image issues that need to be fixed. I’ve always been super critical of myself but didn’t know that it was to such a high degree.
This worries me. I don’t want my daughter to feel like this. I want her to love her body and not be critical of it or feel that she’s lacking. I also think there are some contributors to my issues that can be prevented or at least dialed down.
- Social media: I see people with bodies that I feel are so much better than mine. I tend to compare. A lot.
- TV/Media: I get frustrated that I don’t look like some of the movie stars/singers/famous people and can dwell on this.
- Self-absorption: I get in ruts where I don’t think about others. Where I don’t try to serve others. This makes me more aware of what I “lack” physically.
So I spent a month and a half trying to come up with three things I love about my body. Here’s what I’ve come up with (it’s not great but it’s a start):
- Hips: my OBGYN told me when I first started trying to have a baby that I had great birthing hips. I haven’t let her forget that and find it hilarious now even though I definitely didn’t when I was 24. Turns out, birthing hips doesn’t determine how “wide” or “big,” you think you are. It’s about alignment and placement. There are women bigger than me who had to have C-sections because their hips weren’t aligned correctly. There are tiny women who shoot out babies like it’s nothing. And then the opposite of both statements is true, too. It’s not about the image as much as it’s just about anatomy. And my hips helped me have two babies naturally (and the first kid was sunny side up!)
- Stomach: I was blessed with incredible genetics from my awesome mom and her mom; therefore, I don’t have any stretch marks. I don’t think I’m grateful enough for that. My stomach has always had a little definition no matter what weight I was at any given point, which is pretty cool, too.
- Eyes: my eyes are a cool color. Sometimes they’re brown or green depending on what color shirt I’m wearing. I can’t see worth anything, but the color is cool!
There’s my three. And I’m still not completely confident in these answers. I’m still mulling it over. But I’m going to keep practicing until I really do love my body. Because it’s a gift whether I see or not.
So, join me in the “challenge.” What’re three things you love about your body?
KB
