My niece and I take Belly Dancing together. It’s a joyous way for us to connect and get moving. It’s also a bit more challenging than I anticipated! Getting my hips shimmy-ing for 10 minutes straight is no small feat!

Before our class started, our fab teacher Nadira Jamal, (pictured below) asked everyone to sign a code of conduct form. It covers basics like attendance and such, but the bit of the form that was so compelling and powerful to me was this:

“In order to maintain a body-positive environment, please avoid “diet talk” and other forms of body judgment (including self-judgment) in the studio. I do support each person’s right to choose whether or not to pursue weight loss, but the class is meant to be a weight-neutral oasis in a weight-obsessed world.”

I love that she intentionally creates a body-positive environment, because she’s right, we do have a weight-obsessed world, and so many of us are judging and hating our bodies.

A body-positive environment creates space for us to really enjoy our physical selves and be in the pleasure of the dance.

But did you know that NOT having a body-positive attitude carries a huge COST!

Of course it carries the emotional cost of feeling bad about ourselves, but there’s a physiological  cost as well.

Every negative “I hate my thighs” or “my belly is too big” negatively impacts your body and actually keeps you from releasing excess weight, it weakens your immune system, it keeps you from feeling great.

Seriously! Your negative self talk is more than just mean, it keeps your body in a state of low-level stress and chronic stress negatively impacts your body’s functions.

So, what’s the answer?

Create your own body-positive environment.

Stop the trash talk when it comes to your own body.

Treat your body with kindness and respect.

I know it’s easier said than done. It took me a while to go from judgmental to loving with my body. But it’s do-able, for sure.

It often helps to have a supportive environment like the one my belly dancing teacher has created, or to have a guide to lead you to a positive and healthy relationship with your body.

That’s where I come in.

If you are ready to go from self-hating to self-loving let’s talk. I can help.

And, be sure to check out my 28 Day Smokin’ Hot Mom Challenge!

~~~~~

Nina Manolson, MA, CHC, is the Smokin’ Hot & Soulful Mom Mentor and Family Wellness Expert. She’s the founder of SmokinHotMom.com and HealthyYummyKids.com. She is a certified Health Coach and Psychology of Eating Coach.

She helps busy moms look and feel their best, and helps them feed their kids well in a world that doesn’t.

She’s the author of “Feed Your Kids Well In A World That Doesn’t: an everyday guide to make healthy food happen in your home and beyond”. She’s also the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

ninamanolson

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.

Free Body-Peace Masterclass