DON'T MISS A THING

Let’s stop all things body toxicity, quarantine 15, and the rest of all things in the body-shaming business. You’ve been telling your body and using common expressions that depict self-hatred and criticism and it’s time to stop. It’s time to make a powerful shift from self-loathing to self-love. Let’s make fat/skinny acceptance a thing because all bodies are beautiful and worthy to be a body free of becoming our greatest defender, illuminating a feminine and powerful, radiant light from the inside, out.

Take Back Ownership

Just ask feminine embodiment leader Sheila Kelley, the fiery woman who started a feminine movement revolution featured in the Netflix documentary special, Strip Down, Rise Up. This is a woman who is all about the business of our bodies and the lifestyle and philosophy built on unwavering body love. Body positivity benefits everyone. “Bodies have lots of negativity, let it out!” One of the first things Sheila shares with women when she teaches is to “take back ownership” of themselves and their bodies. 

Surely this ownership entails unlearning what society has ingrained in us and channeling our energy into something more body positive. If we can work towards a way of thinking that isn’t linear, our body love journey could be less destructive and harmful. Turning our vessel into a vehicle and an embodiment of power should be the forever goal.

Sure, learning to embrace everything we don’t necessarily love about our bodies is not an overnight process. But be patient and gentle with yourself, especially with what you see in your reflection. Objects in the mirror may seem more genuine than they appear. There’s more than what meets the eye. Like, more strength and feminine genius in that body than you think there is. I know there will be days when we are not the most confident and comfortable in our skin. Or days we compare our bodies to others. But being grateful for the bodies we’re given, the same bodies that kept us alive and kickin’ during a pandemic deserve a bit of leeway, okay a lot of leeway, and so do all bodies. 

Stop the Body Shaming Fuss

Stop all the fuss about yours or somebody else’s muffin top and cease the collarbone comparisons. Are you really gaining anything fulfilling by the bitter body mambo-jumbo or the fatphobia fuss? It’s time to get going on working on your own internalized fatphobia and confronting your own biases and self-hatred. Try moving more towards intuitive eating and a movement of health at every size type of mindset. It will help us learn to work on our own body acceptance and love for ourselves, just as we are. 

Now, I’m not suggesting abandoning your healthy living practices, I’m just suggesting you cut your pretty self, some slack. Holding yourself and others to pre-pandemic or any beauty standard is incredibly unhealthy. Despite the media masses and what we may have been conditioned to believe, body shaming ourselves and others does not translate to failing or something to be ashamed of. 

If we could stop the constant scrolling, ignore the filtered and curated social media body images, the beauty standard bodies, and any other body that evokes the comparison thief of joy villain and get to loving and focusing on our own body at our own pace, maybe just maybe life could be more positively, purpose-driven. 

Stop, look and listen ladies and gents. Less projecting our own body insecurities on others and more learning to let go of not accepting ourselves.

A Gentle Reminder

A gentle reminder: whether you’re round or rectangle, rock the shape you’re in because whoever is criticizing it…well, that says so much more about them, and not you. 

“I encourage women to find their courage because we only have this one life, in this one body and it’s time to elevate and set her on fire.” Thanks so much for this gem, Sheila.

Here’s hoping you’re not the body shamer in the room, and you’re not the one just reading about courageous body positivity, but living it, in all its fiery figure fullness. 

May the power to stop body shaming and the business of body positivity be with you. xx

About the Author:

Jasmín (Jazzy) Nelson is an avid advocate of www.lovebutton.org which is a non-profit organization promoting a culture of love, inspiring our human family to act with loving kindness in our daily lives.

Read more of Jazzy’s great content!

Feature Image: Photo by LeoPatrizi / Getty Images