LOVING YOUR BODY IS TOO HARD
I tried
I really tried hard
Every day I would stand in front of the mirror
And affirm
I love my body
I love my shape
I love myself
I channeled my inner Louise Hay
I wanted to be that person who loved herself
Loved her curves
Even loved her thighs
It didn’t help
I still heard that mean-mirror voice
Laughing
Mocking
Cutting at me in her disbelief of my body-love
Loving your body is too hard
It was too hard for me
Too big a leap
Too far to go from being indoctrinated
by diet-culture
by an industry making money from my shame
Body-love was only for the thin
If I was anything but thin,
Body-love was settling
Body-love was giving up
So I gave up on body-love
I settled on a body-relationship
A real relationship
Full of hate
And anger
So much grief
A relationship
Riddled with annoyance
Impatience
And snarky-ness
And the longer I hung out in this
real relationship
I found something started to shift
New experiences started to emerge
True appreciation
Actual body-peace
Moments of ease
And then there it was
Like a gem glistening amidst a mountain of rocks
Some love
For myself
Some actual body love
In the midst of the mess of relationship
The reality of everyday feelings
There she was sparkling:
Appreciation
Compassion
Caring
Support
For myself
Body-love
Body-love is too hard
It’s too big a stretch
Let’s start with being in a real, messy relationship
Start there and see what gets uncovered
~Nina Manolson
For more of my poetic essays: https://ninamanolson.com/food-for-thought/
Nina Manolson, M.A. in Counseling Psychology, Nationally Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Psychology of Eating Coach, Body-Trust® Guide.
If you’d like help with navigating an authentic and respectful relationship with your body. Let’s talk.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nina Manolson, MA, NBC-HWC, board certified Health Coach, Psychology of Eating Coach and Certified Body-Trust Provider, believes that every woman deserves to feel good in her own body.
She helps women create a healthy and positive relationship with their food and body so they can love their body and life! She’s the founder of NinaManolson.com and The Nourished Woman Nation.
She helps busy women feel good in their own body.. She specializes in working with women over 40 who have tried other diets and approaches but are still struggling with their body and food.
She’s the creator of the BODY-LOVE MAP and the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
To get your F.R.E.E. ebook: HOW TO BE A WOMAN AT EASE IN YOUR BODY click here.
Nina Manolson, MA, is the founder of Body-Peace®.She helps women end the war with food and body and finally feel truly at home in their body—as it is.
She is known for her deeply feminist, anti-diet, body-peace® approach. She brings her 30 years of experience as a therapist, Body-Trust® Guide and Psychology of Eating Teacher to helping women create a respectful and trusting relationship with their food and body.
Nina’s Body-Peace® work is all in service of helping people get off the diet roller-coaster, and into a compassionate and powerful way of eating & living which creates a positive long-lasting change in and with their bodies. Her courses, coaching, poems and Body-Peace APP positively change the conversation that women are having with their body.
Start your Body-Peace® journey with this free masterclass that will help you understand and shift your relationship with your body.
