Somewhere early on in my eating journey
I invited meanness to my table
I put judgment on my plate
At the end of every meal
I put
Should’ve
Would’ve
Could’ve
On every forkful of food
And every night before I went to bed
I fed myself a few bites of
Shame
And
Repentant plans for tomorrow
All of it tasted so bitter,
But I felt I deserved it
I felt that unless my body was small
Smaller
Smallest
My bites should also be
Small
Measured
Restricted
But my bites were not
I ingested and digested heaps of body-hate
Until it made my tummy ache
with sorrow
with longing
I longed for
delight at the table
ease in my belly
and
self-kindness
So I started to add in
Add in small bites of
Understanding
Compassion
Deep body-listening
And the more I added in
The more I helped myself
To mounds of pleasure
Drenched with tenderness
The more I made time to
Sit at my table with my feelings
And let my body speak her story
Then and only then did kindness show up
Kindness showed up at the table
Hatred was no longer on the menu
Sometimes shame still ends up on my plate
But I know it doesn’t agree with me
So I politely say no thank you
And ask for more compassion
~ Nina Manolson
NinaManolson.com
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.
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