In ADWi “Smart Is Sexy” book club for the next few weeks we are reading “Body Kindness” by Rebecca Scritchfield. This is an attempt to have a healthy conversation about body image and the 60 billion dollar diet industry. It’s been interesting to read comments in the closed Facebook group. It’s interesting to see our members lurking but not participating. This topic is a huge trigger for so many, myself include. My hope is that by spending time and attention on it we will start to help our members grow in the area of Body Kindness. One place to start is reading “The Body Kindness Manifesto” our loud and seeing what feels uncomfortable for you. This is from page 12 in the Scritchfield book:
I take care of my body every day in ways that are meaningful to me, practicing love, connection, and caring.
Decisions that enhance my health and happiness are best for my well-being.
All my health efforts, big and small, make a difference in my energy and my mindset.
I don’t have to change everything in my life right now.
I’m allowed to struggle and make mistakes in self-care. When I’m having difficulty, I can see it as a challenge and opportunity for growth, not a judgment on my worthiness.
I respect my body as it is right now, even if I wish I could change it.
Nurturing my most valued relationships and taking time for myself are just as important to my well-being as what I eat and how much I exercise.
Re-read that. Does it make you want to run? So much of this goes in the face of the “diet culture” that we have all been indoctrinated into about our health, weight and self-care. And when I sit quietly and reflect, the “Body Kindness Manifesto” is a lot more healthy than the rest of what I’ve been taught. My body is asking me to accept it but my mind and societal indocintrations are screaming for me to RUN.
For me, personally, the line about “not a judgement on my worthiness” was a slap in the face. I do feel like when I don’t execute my self-care plan perfectly, daily, I am a failure and the judgement is very much negative. What if I actually lived by this manifesto? What if I let go of the need to fix everything about me TODAY and truly respected my body as it is right now as I am working on it? How different would my internal dialog be? How different would my choices be?
These are the questions I hope our book club gets into. I hope our women read this and pause to think about what they could learn from considering a change towards this way of thinking. On Thursday, July 9 we have a guest speaker coming in from Evolve Counseling to help our women start this journey. I hope our women are brave enough to be really uncomfortable and join this conversation.