The year moves forward and those of us in the northern hemisphere find ourselves finally leaving the cold and snow behind us for the Spring’s embrace of warmth and growth. I invite you to consider with me how the energy of this season, the returning warmth of the sun, the leaves sprouting on the tress and the newly returned birds…
Hello and Happy New Year! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful body-sovereign holiday season and are ready to embark on to the adventures of what 2016 brings us. Let’s start the year here at Embracing the Body Divine with some reflection on nurturing mindfulness to help us become more body sovereign. Those of us on journey’s of improving our…
Now that we are about to jump full steam ahead into the holiday season, I encourage you to consider the three elements of body sovereignty (mindfulness, self compassion, discernment) and how working with them can help you navigate the pitfalls of the season when it comes to living positively in our body. First, consider opening yourself to Self-Compassion over the…
Self Compassion is a concept that is easy to understand in theory, but putting into practice is a bit more of a challenge for many people. Through my own experiences and learning from folks who have explored the idea of self compassion in depth, I have come to see self-compassion as being aware of and responding to the suffering we…
In doing this work of Reclaiming Body Sovereignty I have come to see the importance of three elements: Compassion, Mindfulness and Discernment. Today, let’s explore Discernment…what is it, and why is it important in feeling better about our body? Discernment is about opening our eyes to the influences that surround us and finding ways to determine what is helpful to…
Here we are at Principle # 8 – Respect Your Body. This is a big one! For me, this is the grand prize – what all the work in having a positive relationship with food is all about….nurturing a more positive relationship with my body. Our relationship with food is tangled up with how we feel about our body, and…
The #summerofintuitiveeating continues and here was are at principle number seven, Honour Your Feelings Without Using Food. This is timely for me as I’ve had an emotionally challenging time over the past few weeks…heck, the past year even! And I’ve noticed an increase in emotional eating in my own life. I was glad to get a refresher on what exactly…
“Figure out what you really want to eat. Give yourself unconditional permission to eat it.” (Tribole and Resch, Intuitive Eating) We live in a culture with strong puritanical roots of self denial. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and if it’s pleasurable it must be bad for you because pleasure is sinful. Self denial is virtuous. These puritanical ideals make this…