LOVING AND ACCEPTING THE BODIES WE HAVE

By Coralie Darsey-Malloy

I was watching one of the entertainment shows and they were using Photo Shop to morph skinny actresses into ones that looked like the average woman on the street. At one time I worked in the fashion industry and developed a deep discontent with the body I had and developed two eating disorders in an attempt to force it down to a weight it was never meant to be.

It took years for me to change my views of myself and the body I was given. Thankfully those challenges are far behind me and my husband and I developed a healthy weight management program that assists clients in reaching a place of acceptance about the body they have. Many we have worked with stop chasing after an image that may not be right for them and begin to place emphasis on getting making their bodies healthy and strong.

Our course is called Body Dynamics...Your Body is Your Buddy and it emphasis the importance of loving the body we are in and striving to keep it healthy and strong at any age.

Part of my ability to overcome two eating disorders was to come to the realization that whatever the size, shape and appearance of anyone's body it is who lives inside that counts. When I began to commit to loving body the way it is that was my starting point. After that I realized it was more important to work on becoming healthy and whole than it was to pressure myself into being skinnier than I was meant to be. That was a turning point and I've never looked back.

That is the track we take when working with clients or presenting healthy living seminars. This approach works and consistently brings about lasting changes for the better. Once anyone makes peace with the body they have it frees up a tremendous amount of energy to live from the 'inside out' instead of the 'outside in.'

Now with a rapidly expanding population of baby-boomers we are seeing plastic surgery becoming one of the highest paying specialties in medicine. So what does that say about how countless people feel about the body they have and I couldn't help wondering what member here would say on this topic. To me if people want to enhance the body they have for themselves...that is way different that trying to change the body to fit unrealistic image to gain outer approval.

In my view life is a journey of learning to love yourself first and then extending that love to others at every encounter. I know from experience that cannot happen if one cannot make peace with the body they've been given. If society put as much emphasis on looking at how we FEEL rather than how we LOOK I think there would a lot less illness and imbalance out there. I think the school systems made a huge mistake in cutting physical education programs because it prevents kids from learning that from an early age that being active and enjoying exercise is a feel good experience.

So are you willing to share how you feel about the body you have and how you developed your opinion about it? Have you ever been a fully fledged member of the dieting brigade? Are you still...or did you get out of that and onto something else? Do you dislike parts of your body or something about how it reflects your culture? Or have you made peace with the body you have? To me our body is an outer reflection of who we are inside.

In my view it is up to each of us to define who we are...not the entertainment or fashion industry...or anyone/anything else. No one else can ever define our lives...we do.

As I am aging I have a few parts of my body that remind me of old injuries, traumas and dramas but overall I am very grateful to be as healthy as I am at the age I am. I am glad to have moved into the "wise woman" phase of my life and can truly own my personal growth and spiritual development that allows me to celebrate the gift of my life in the body I have. How about you?