Four Ways To Heal Your Relationship With Your Body And Find Self-Love With Yoga
As yoga teachers, we are the embodiment of healthy self-love, and respect for our bodies. We love our bodies no matter what…
Did you laugh when you read that? I definitely chuckled as I typed it.
Even though we are yoga teachers, and we focus on mindfulness and self-love, we are still people that live in a society that is steeped in diet culture. We are not immune to its impacts.
The Wiles of Social Media and Comparison
If you are on social media, you are inundated and surrounded by images of “perfect“ yogis doing perfectly aligned and advanced poses.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, they can be wonderfully motivating and inspiring. However, our subconscious mind may not see them in such an innocuous way.
These images can take our minds down damaging roads. These roads are often subconscious and can manifest themselves in a couple of different ways. It could be a subconscious goal, “Someday I will look like that”, or “Someday I will be able to do that”, etc.
Or it can lead to a thought pattern of negative comparison. “I could never look like that”, “I could never be able to do that“.
In either scenario, this can be causing us to feel ‘not good enough’. In comparisons, we often make what we are comparing ourselves to, as the precedent for what is ‘good’. So by default, subconsciously, that can make us feel inherently not good, or even bad.
The Yoga Teacher Body
In addition to the barrage of images and comparisons that we are surrounded by; as yoga teachers, our bodies are on display constantly. When we are teaching and demonstrating, all eyes are on us. This can set us up for intense personal scrutiny.
While all of this is occurring on a subconscious level, it most definitely deeply affects us. This is a perfect recipe for an unhealthy relationship between ourselves and our bodies. Self-imposed high expectations of us as a yoga teacher; what we should look like, what we should be able to do, etc., combined with consistent imagery of “perfection.”
Here are some simple things you can do to change your mindset and heal this relationship.
These steps will help you shift your thinking about body love, from feeling like you must love the way you look physically, to simply loving your body for the amazing being that it is.
On a Personal Note...
The notion of loving your body may conjure up different emotions, depending on your life experiences. For anybody with unhealed trauma, or that has struggled with extreme body image issues, the statement may trigger a strong visceral reaction.
Many of us have experienced extreme shame around our bodies for one reason or another. This is why the work must be done to heal. No diet or exercise program will undo the trauma, but the inner work will heal it and change unhealthy patterns. This was my story, and these are some of the steps that I took to begin my healing journey.
Four Ways To Heal Your Relationship With Your Body And Find Self-Love With Yoga
Change the Way you Refer to Yourself and Your Body
Change the way you address yourself! Instead of referring to your body as “it“ , start using your pronoun! When I talk about my body, I refer to my body as “she” or “her”. It sounds silly, however, this personalizes your body as a living being.
Becoming Aware of Unconscious Actions
It is crucial to be aware of your unconscious actions. They contribute to the narrative that your body is bad, shameful, an embarrassment, and needs to be hidden. When you recognize actions of shame, you can bring awareness to those behaviors, and begin to change them, mindfully.
Here are some common, unconscious signs of body shame:
Consistently tugging at the shirt around your tummy, to pull it away from your body.
When sitting down, immediately reaching for a pillow or something to put over your midsection.
Consistently trying to conceal the tummy in some way, whether it’s crossing your hands in front of it, making sure to always be seated at a table, etc.
Our bellies are among our most vulnerable areas. For humans, it is vulnerable on an emotional and physical level. Simply healing the relationship with your belly, will do wonders for healing your relationship with your body as a whole. Get curious and start to recognize your patterns of hiding your tummy, and then start to take mindful steps to stop these behaviors. It will feel challenging and vulnerable to not hide. Start slowly, just being aware of these behaviors at home as you grow in confidence.
Create a Nurturing bond with Self-Touch
This one may sound weird and will feel very odd at first, however, it is highly effective the more you practice it.
Create a connection with your body through self-touch.
Often, when showing love and affection for someone we know or a beloved pet, we place our hands on them, we hug them, we touch their arm, we pat their back, etc. The same applies to us! Try gently touching or caressing your tummy, in a mindful and nurturing way.
This little practice will begin to change your mindset around your body, as a friend not a foe. Anytime we lovingly care for something using touch, we tend to grow an attachment, the same will work for our bodies! The key is mindfulness, gentleness, kindness, and nurturing.
Find and Cultivate Body Empathy
There’s a saying; if you know somebody's story, you’ll find love for them. Knowing someone's story is finding empathy for them. You can apply this concept to yourself and your body!
Create body empathy by learning your body’s story. Think about and recognize how much physical trauma your body has been through from birth till now (birth itself, falling, breaking bones, scraping knees, possibly birthing babies, hormonal changes, illness, etc.). Recognize their story.
Our bodies experience physical traumas that our minds may not be aware of. Mindfully recognizing what your body has been through, and what your body does for you every second of every day is powerful. Creating this connection and empathy with your body will help to facilitate a more loving view of yourself.
It is a Worthwhile Process
You don’t have to like how your body looks to love it! While it can be hard to separate the two, they are not mutually exclusive.
You can heal this relationship by bringing diligent mindfulness into your thoughts and actions. As you teach your students to enter poses and practice mindfully, you can do the same in your relationship with yourself.
Imagine how different life can be with this loving relationship that you can have with yourself. Offer yourself grace as you practice this, it takes time and mindfulness. However, you will be rewarded with a nourishing connection between mind and body that will continue to grow and flourish.