I used to spend a great deal of energy trying, in whatever way I could, to suppress and minimize the appearance of my belly; sucking in, zipping up, slouching down, hunching over…you name it. When I began exploring the deeper cravings concepts I learned that my embarrassment was denying me from responding to the countless … Continue reading
Filed under body appreciation …
What I learned (and relearned) from 2012:
That my body never lies. That food is not scary and enjoying it is my birthright. That ‘big’ ‘round’ ‘curvy’ are just words, descriptions, nothing more. No more menacing that ‘blue’ ‘cold’ or ‘salty’. That all of us deserve to be completely free in our bodies and in our beings. That the present moment is … Continue reading
Date Your Body
When I was at university, at the height of my war with my body, I went through a phase of going to the gym almost every night after classes to spend anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes on the Stairmaster; heart beating and dripping with sweat… those hours were a torturous ritual of me … Continue reading
Waves of Connection
When people hear that I have lost over 65lbs without counting calories or measuring, by truly eating what I want, when I want and without forcing a daily exercise routine they are usually shocked and suspicious…it seems too easy. In truth the daily decisions of what I eat and how I move has come with … Continue reading
Silencing the Bully Within
Yesterday I received 2 disturbing e-mails about bullying. One was from a sweet and wonderful woman I know who shared a story about standing at a street corner while a passerby hurled a violent insult towards her about the size of her body propelling her from enjoying a normal sunny autumn day into a moment … Continue reading
A Body of Gratitude
I was on a vacation recently, delighting in the heat of the sun poolside and was struck by a surprising awareness. I was enjoying myself! I was completely relaxed and present, dipping in and out of the pool, enjoying the company I was with, appreciating the sun and the breeze and the relaxed atmosphere. Such … Continue reading
Beneath the Marble Coat
The beautiful thing about the practice of presence is that it instantly returns us to who we actually are. As very young children we are completely awake and whole, but over time our truth becomes obscured by layers of life experience that teach us that we are something other than what we actually are. In Return … Continue reading
My Braided Being
There is a concept within Tibetan Buddhism that every person has three levels of being: the inner, outer and the secret being. The outer being refers to the physical self, the body. The inner being is the thinking mind which includes the ego, self-identify, feelings, and memories etc. The secret being is considered the essential … Continue reading
Holding the Olive Branch
It is simple math that determines our size; calories in verses calories out. We all know that on an intellectual level but somehow emotionally we can begin to view our own body as a villain, an active agent, in the story we tell ourselves about our weight. We attribute evil powers to the body that … Continue reading
Sipping the Moment
For so long the prospect of losing weight was the illusive solution to every problem. I was convinced that having that thin body of my dreams would offer better relationships, more success, more opportunities; to me it was like the holy grail of happiness. I no longer see weight loss as carrying the power that … Continue reading