Comments on: March Habitude: Some Thoughts About Bodies

By: The Flip Medley » Body Image

The Flip Medley » Body Image — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 22:17:49 +0000

[...] Just wanted to give due props to a metapost by Betsy “Funky Fat Girl” Henning about body image (originally on Magpie Girl’s Blog). Last week, in yet another show about dieting, I heard Oprah say that she had wasted a large part of her 30’s worrying about food and weight. I’m thirty-seven. Only three years to go before I am undoubtedly, irrevocably ‘grown up.’ Will I still be carrying the neuroses of a thirteen year old? Will I still automatically convert calories into sit ups? Will I still waste precious minutes feeling guilty? Will my body remain my enemy? [...]

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:08:29 +0000

I am doing a series of posts called Love Your Body Mondays

I already linked to you ;) Thanks for your thoughtful honesty about this constant issue for all women and being part of the intention to change.

By: Rachelle

Rachelle — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 21:07:33 +0000

Karla,

I love the bicycle image. I like the idea of us all moving along together.

Cheers!

Rachelle

By: Karla MG

Karla MG — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 07:39:50 +0000

Oh Rachelle, thanks much for these thoughts. I’ve sensed more than once many commonalities between your journey and mine. I’ve found more! I love how you express your desire to love your bodyself as you do your other selves, great concepts for me! Having had several intractable migraines, and now having an at home-health order for DHE by I.V. pump, I completely “get” the notion of the migraine just out of reach. I ate for comfort, I still do, which is why I’m severely obese…but now to turn the “what” that I eat so it is TRULY comforting for both body and soul. That’s the challenge! I just had the image that we’re all on a multi-seated cycle, all peddaling together, for fun, for health, for energy, for fellowship! The journey’s more important than the destination, and the necessity of working together will help us get where-ever our roads lead. Okay, any artists to bring that image to life? I can see it in my mind’s eye, but haven’t a clue where/how to form it… Again, Rachelle, many thanks for sharing your journey and thoughts. You’re inspiring dear one!!! –K

By: Rachelle

Rachelle — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 16:22:15 +0000

Wow! Thank you everyone for your heartfelt and thoughtful comments. Obviously, this is a deep felt need/hunger/hope for many of us.

Becky, I’d love to read your Mairs piece. And Kitty, I encourage you to write more on this topic. Your passion and pain are rich and would bring help and healing to many of us. Let me know if you’d like to guest post.

Bobbie, as always thanks for sharing your journey with bravery and honesty. I often lurk over at your place and am amazed at your frankness and wisdom.

Jen B., I think mantras should be one of our practices this month. I’ll post on it soon.

Aola, thanks for stumbling along together on this journey!

Yours,

Rachelle

By: bobbie

bobbie — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 14:46:21 +0000

my word for this year is ‘centered’ – this is my hope for the year. to be able to live inside my body and skin and be okay with it.

this was a very moving post rach. i know that my eating disorder stems from the fear of being thin. every time i have been thin i have made bad, damaging sexual choices (or been victimized). fat for me is protection, protection from damage, protection from making “sinful” choices, protection from being sexual.

i think it is the curse of the “touched” – those of us who have been used as play things by other people. i don’t know many ‘untouched’ – so maybe it’s just the curse of being female, but i don’t think so – i see many who are so comfortable in their own skin – and i am jealous. especially when they aren’t model perfect. i think “who taught you to be so comfortable, where was that class and how did i miss out on it?”

i don’t know if i’ll be any better at this habitude than i was at last months, but i’m in. i want to be comfortable in my own skin, and able to live out into the world without the fear of being hurt or damaged.

thanks for this post, it means a lot to me.

By: kitty

kitty — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:40:04 +0000

I just came back from working out with my trainer and read this – I was beating myself up for only working out 30 minutes instead of an hour, and your writing silenced the inner critic. I am more convinced that I am out to get my body than vice versa.

Sometimes I forget my body is amazing!

The scar on my knee reminds me of falling off my bike and my dad buying me an ice cream cone to heal my wound. My “buddha belly” reminds me of my pain:not being able to bear children, of being raped, of a botched abortion as a teen. My hands remind me: of those I help with massage, of waking up last night and my hubby was still holding my hand in his sleep 4 hours later, of giving my dad Communion on his deathbed, of playing “say say o playmate” and just living. I used to be paralyzed in my left hand and arm, but no more. I healed. My body knows how to heal ~ even if it takes a little longer for my head or my heart.

I can focus so much on my “faults” or the areas that “need much more work”, but sometimes I forget that my eyes are beautiful, I have a very identifiable cackle, or I have my mother’s nose.

My body is my history ~ she’s the only one that has been with me through EVERYTHING!

By: aola

aola — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:25:39 +0000

No, it doesn’t just automatically change when you turn 40 or 50…and I don’t really know how to proceed either but let’s do it!! Let’s learn to love ourselves and if we truly love ourselves we will be kind to our bodies, feed them well, exercise them so they stay strong and last long, not stand in front of the mirror and harass them with ugly words but tell our bodies how strong and beautiful they are. Who knows someday we might even believe it.

By: juniper68

juniper68 — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:41:58 +0000

Ugh, this really got me where I live. Not sure I have a thoughtful response formulated yet, but wanted to let you know that Loving the Body sounds like an excellent habitude.

Actually, I had a friend who got a lot healthier, weight wise, after she started doing this little mantra with everything she ate “Everything I eat turns to health in beauty.” kind of with the idea that if we say when we eat “AHH! this is so bad for me!” it turns it out that it is…

Looking forward to other ideas.

By: Becky

Becky — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:16:58 +0000

Love Mairs and I saw the Oprah show. I wrote a piece sparked by Mairs years ago. I’d love to share it with you if you have time. It’s odd, childbirth changed my perception of my body. I’m kinder to it. Perhaps soon I’ll start to inhabit it wholely, to let it be me.