We humans have a tendency to want to make painful or unpleasant thoughts + feelings + memories go away. In fact, we go to great lengths to avoid having them show up - over and over. We eat cupcakes, drink wine, do drugs, pop pills, try hypnosis - yet they always return, no matter how hard we try. There's an alternative way to approach painful memories. Think of your body as a vessel, with all of the bits and pieces of you inside - your memories, your organs, your mind, your emotions. Now imagine that there's a small part of your body meant to honor all the painful memories - a memorial of sorts. This memorial serves as a symbol of the fact that, through all the pain, through all the difficulty - you have endured. You keep moving on. You … [Read more...] about A Memorial For Painful Memories
Self Acceptance
Change Your Facebook Feed, Love Your Body
In her best selling book, The Magic Art of Tidying Up, author Marie Kondo writes… The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask: “Does this spark joy?” If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it. Consider the amount of time you spend on social media (or watching TV). Are you “consuming” images + posts + shows + articles that spark joy and make you feel good about yourself and the world? A few months ago, I set out on an adventure – to create a Facebook feed that made me feel great about myself. And I succeeded. When we’re bombarded with size 4 bodies and photo-shopped images all day, every day - our brains recognize these images as “normal” and anything else as – not … [Read more...] about Change Your Facebook Feed, Love Your Body
10 Things…
Body shaming + deprivation diets + punishing cardio workouts NEVER result in long-term success. I promise you. In my coaching practice, women come to me from all over the map and they always have at least one thing in common - a deep desire to get out of suffering. This desire comes from a place of love. I know that our past behaviors don’t always feel like love. But so many of us keep trying because we love ourselves enough to want to end the suffering. We believe - deep down - that there’s a pathway to health that isn’t quite so cruel and punishing. But those slick weight loss ads and boot camp before and after photos keep sucking us back into a vicious cycle of repeating the same old... ...punish + give up + feel shame + start … [Read more...] about 10 Things…
Why I’m Totally Over Losing the Last Few Pounds…
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it - but for the last 4 years or so, I’ve been telling myself that I should lose a few pounds. Let’s start with the facts... I’m just shy of 5’6” At my highest weight, I was 195 pounds At my lowest (as an adult), I weighed 124 pounds (for like 30 seconds) I currently weigh between 135 and 138 – and my weight has been consistently in this range for the last 5 years I’m muscular and stocky with strong German thighs I’m pretty damn fit for a 41 year old chick At my lowest weight – when everyone was telling me I looked ah-maaazing and my size 6 pants were starting to feel a little loose, I was struggling with what was eventually diagnosed as microscopic colitis - a rare side effect of a medication I was … [Read more...] about Why I’m Totally Over Losing the Last Few Pounds…