The “Magic” of Body Kindness
While researching this week’s topic of body image, I discovered the book Body Kindness: Transform Your Health from the Inside Out by nutritionist Rebecca Scritchfield. Her ideas about Body Kindness really resonated with me. She calls it “the magic of being kind to yourself.” Check this out from her website:
“How often do you connect to your ‘inner caregiver’ — your true self? No judgments, no shame, just open-hearted presence. Most everyone has lost a consistent, loving connection to their ‘inner caregiver’ through life experiences — everything you experience today in the outer world shapes the inner world …
“We are beautiful in our differences, but since long before we were born, we’ve been told to all strive to be the same, thin, White (the lighter skin the better), young, and beautiful.
“While Body Kindness® can’t change culture, it can help people change, families change, communities change, and it can be part of what brings you peace and comfort today. I hope my contribution to helping you break free is to help you find yourself again.”
I love that she talks about your “inner caregiver.” As caregivers, we’re used to providing care with “no judgments, no shame, just open-hearted presence.” So why is it so hard for us to connect with that inner caregiver when we need a little self-kindness, self-compassion, and positive self-talk?
She goes on to say that there are no rules for Body Kindness, only choices, “because rules don’t create habits — choices do.” By learning to make the best choices for YOU, based on the three pillars of Love, Connect, and Care, “you bring self-acceptance, self-compassion, and positive motivation to follow your deepest desires for a healthy mind and body."
Most likely, we’ve all experienced unhealthy body image issues and negative self-talk. Having a healthy body image is all about accepting our flaws, recognizing that nobody is perfect, and understanding that we are human, constantly changing and growing. But it’s not too late to start the positive self-talk and have a healthier body image. For help, check out this article by Amelia and Emily Nagoski that encapsulates everything that’s wrong about how we’ve been told to view our bodies.
The ability to accept our bodies as they are and identify the qualities and strengths that we possess, instead of trying to change our bodies to fit the expectations of society, is a way to build our self-esteem. Your body is an incredible machine, capable of sustaining life and completing complex tasks every minute. When you stop all the self-criticism, shame, and judgment once and for all, you will find that YOU can do magic!