How would giving yourself permission to see yourself as part of the whole rather than a collection of imperfect parts change your relationship with your body? Somewhere along my body image journey, this was a question I began asking myself daily. Surprisingly, with time and support, I felt a shift, a sense of wholeness versus a fragmented mess of imperfect body parts. If you struggle with body image, this blog offers some guidance on how to practice “seeing” yourself as a whole being.

For guest contributor Maria Scrimenti, her body was her project. She counted every calorie, did all the HIIT workouts, and “made it” in the Nashville fitness scene. She left all the popularity and her obsession with fitness behind to find her true worth and is now on a mission to help women do the same. Read Maria’s inspiring story.

In February 2020, guest contributor Cameron Pettinato came out to his friends and family as gay. As Cameron shares, what followed was an “uncomfortable transitionary period” fueled by social media images of '“ideal” and unrealistic body standards for gay men. Read on to learn how moving to another city and finding an inclusive community was the catalyst for Cameron learning to accept his body.

Happy 2019! Without fail, the focus on working out and changing our bodies intensifies in the beginning months of the New Year, with marketers convincing us we need to lose weight, join a gym, and eat less. The repetition of these messages can cause us to question if we “fit” in and flare up body image concerns. Can you relate? If so, I promise you aren’t alone. In this blog post, I share an excerpt from my book, Body Mindful Yoga, on the combat language of fitness culture and offer new, more affirming language to embrace movement in your life.

Here I share the story of the day I practiced with my yoga pants on inside out. In my quest to make meaning out of the experience, I learned the power of the words "it means nothing" and that our perceived flaws ultimately say nothing about who we are, what we value, or how deeply we love. 

Guest contributor Anita Grace Brown shares how she has learned to give herself permission to be fully human and embrace those qualities and emotions that unfortunately are often viewed as socially and culturally negative or undesirable.