We had some friends over for dinner a few nights ago, and the conversation meandered to a discussion of if, as conventional wisdom holds, "things...
Read MoreBody Respect Commandments
A few weeks ago, I talked about personal commandments that can help guide us through our day. Today, I’m sharing “body respect commandments” from the blog Weightless. In the book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works
My body deserves to be fed.
My body deserves to be treated with dignity.
My body deserves to be dressed comfortably and in the manner I am accustomed to.
My body deserves to be touched affectionately and with respect.
My body deserves to move comfortably.
I’m amused by the fact that both the previous list and this one mention manner of dress. You know that I like to wear everyday costumes! (By the by… for anyone interested in why my blog has the name it does, you’ll find the answer in that post.)
I love these “commandments,” but I’m going to modify them (Mel-ify them?) to work even better for me.
My body deserves to be fed dino-chow.
My body deserves to be treated with dignity by me and everyone else.
My body deserves to be dressed comfortably and in the manner I am accustomed to with big black boots, Converse, and ruffles if I feel like it.
My body deserves to be touched affectionately and with respect every day.
My body deserves to move
comfortablywith strength, as much grace as I can muster, and as quickly or slowly as I decide, stopwatch be damned.
Those are mine. What changes would you make?
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Love it! Thanks for posting that. I too am eating "dino chow" as you put it. (we exchanged a letter a few days ago – Karin) And finally, FINALLY my body is NOT my enemy as it has been for a long long time. I may not be "happy" with the way it looks right now but that doesn't mean I need to punish it further. I need to respect it and take care of it and treat it like my best friend…and i'm well on my way of doing that. I'm on day 8 and feeling awesome. You inspire me, keep up the good work! And again, thanks for posting that, it is totally relevant and what I needed to hear and put in my mind.
Karin, congratulations on 8 days of taking great care of yourself. AWESOME!
It's felt really incredible to me — like, really INCREDIBLE — to stop feeling like my body and I are at war. And it makes me a little sad that I spent so much of my life having negative feelings about my body. It's tragic that there are so many things out in the world that seem designed to make us start disliking our bodies before we hit puberty — then keep on hating them through womanhood.
TERRIBLE!
Good for you for making friends with your body. YAY!
I don't have anything to add, but would like to emphasize (especially for women), the use of the words MY BODY. It's crucial for us to realize that yes, they are each our own, and our one and onlies.
MY BODY. MINE. MY OWN.
Excellent point, Lydia!
My body deserves to be thanked for tolerating some of the ridiculousness I make it do (I'm an ultrarunner which I know isn't probably "healthy" :-))
Oooo, Danni! I like that idea… thanking our bodies for all the crazy stuff we ask them to do. Nice addition!
No additions, just a big ol' HELL YEAH to all of the above.
Megan –> Glad you like it!