This is Perry. She’s now 4. She was the biggest catalyst for me to start practicing kindness towards my body.
It wasn’t long after she was born that I realised that the words I used about my body, the way I looked at my body and the way I honoured (or didn’t honour) my body really mattered and that at some point it would have an impact on this beautiful soul.
When I’d start to get all negative about my strong, capable, beautiful body questions started popping into my head. Questions like: Would you say those words to her? Do you believe what you are saying or thinking would be true for her? Do you want her to think this about her body? Do you believe your daughters worth is attached to the size/shape of her body? Every single time, the answer was HELL NO. Now I have two daughters. I want them to celebrate their bodies. To see their bodies for the amazing things they can do, to feel confident, strong and capable. To learn how to treat their bodies well. To move for the love of moving and to feel mentally, emotionally & physically healthy. How do they learn that if their Mama does not know that to be true for herself?
How can I teach them to fight against the onslaught of messages they will receive in their life about their bodies if I can’t demonstrate that to them myself?
Trust me, it is a journey of ups & downs and it’s a daily practice. Truthfully, there are days when I do feel negative about my body (I think that’s common) however I don’t ever pick at or berate my body in front of the girls, ever.
The work we do for ourselves in this space is hard, but it’s so worth it & extremely important. It brings freedom and kindness and joy for us & to us.
And honestly, in my opinion, there’s too much at stake for my girls if I don’t do the work.
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