Say "Yes" to Play and Spend Less Time Scrolling
By Ashley Paige, Yoga for Eating Disorders Writer
While Instagram provides the benefit of connecting with communities around the globe, its positives are not without negatives, epecially when it comes to affecting self-esteem and body image in teens and adults.
By design, the aim of the platform is to capture users’ attention for extended scrolling time. Reports of how the app is known to increase body image issues for 1 in 3 teen girls has been documented in research, and stories of how comparison to peers and celebrities fuel anxious fears of rejection has recently been in the media.
For many users, self-worth is dependent on “likes” which tempts users to alter their appearance through filters. Young girls are bombarded with images of ultra-thin swimsuit models, by which Facebook, owner of Instagram, profit. The less users’ identity matches what they see on the screen, the more prone they may be to feeling insecure. The highlight reel content tends to value the glamorous side of life and leaves little room for real people and real experiences. “What I eat in a day” posts lead followers to the uninformed, and often dangerous, dietary recommendations of influencers. A report from SumOfUs showed that, from a sample of 720 Instagram posts, 240 were eating disorder related, and 53% of them explicitly promoted eating disorders.
The most impactful way to combat social media’s influence on body image, is to educate users on ways to shift their body experience from control to empowerment. Jennifer Kreatsoulas talks with Keli Laverty BC-DMT, a leading expert in Dance/Movement Therapy and Founder of Be Rooted Wellness Counseling, on this topic in Episode 5 of Real Body Talk. Keli explains how the traditional medical field has created a belief that the body and mind are separate. She describes how comparing our appearance to unattainable standards, like those on Instagram, deepend a disembodied experience as opposed to living in the actual body we have. In comparison, we’re removed from our intuition and our ability to sense and feel. If we’re not aware of our "“in real life experiences,” we remain in a constant survival state as inner narratives of comparison, shame, and guilt fueled by scrolling heightens our anxiety. Therefore, we don’t process emotions because we’re not living in the present moment.
There are many ways to return to embodiment, one of them being dance movement therapy, which Keli teaches. Through her classes, she encourages students to be authentic and expressive while paying attention to their sensations. The nourishment that comes from listening to one’s body can then be applied to relationships with self and others. Women have been socialized to believe that taking up space is wrong, so she guides them to venture into big movements in a playful way. Her top two recommendations for practicing embodiment are to breathe and to play. “If you think back to childhood, we just were in the moment,” Keli says. “Play is the idea of saying ‘yes’ to the moment. Saying ‘yes’ to the possibility of what could happen.”
Another practice to get us out of our heads and into our bodies is through embodiment meditation. Connecting with our inner world enhances our ability to integrate information and experiences from the part of self that doesn’t need external validation. If you need guidance while connecting with your senses, I invite you listen to Jennifer’s meditation.
The next time you’re scrolling through your feed, I invite you to take a purposeful pause and notice the sensations in your body that may be signaling the need to unfollow toxic content. Curating your social media to follow influencers in the body diversity and intuitive eating spaces will transform your experience for the better.
Raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Ashley Lane is a yoga instructor and body image coach on the Pacific Southwest coast of Nicaragua. Through her recovery of orthorexia she transitioned from a rigorous asana practice to now healing, accepting, and connecting with her body through yoga philosophy. She’s rediscovering hobbies like psychology, baking, music and art, as well as pursuing new interests such as writing and surfing. She believes her healing journey can support others to overcome their own struggles with body image. Ashley writes for the Yoga for Eating Disoders blog and is founder of Ashley Paige Coaching.