Body Image Distortion

Body image distortion is an issue that isn’t exempt from making its way to the mat. Plainly put, body image is how you view, feel about and experience your body. Distortions arise when we buy into popular untruths. Remember, we are timeless souls inhabiting temporary bodies, so while body positivity is a beautiful thing, living your yoga is about wholeness and radical acceptance; Mind, Body & Spirit. The body is so harped on in today’s society that we easily get swept up in the distractions of the superficial dense matter. I hope that this fact sheet can shed some light on your own body image and how it connects with all your other living layers. The body is a container. Love it, nurture it, and send it gratitude.

Consumerism Promotes Body Image Distortion

We buy into social ideas without sense, or perspective because that’s what we’re told & sold in a perpetuating cycle of dissatisfaction. There’s no blame; it just is. In fact, the only way to heal these wounds of misperception is to recognize the larger systems at play. Then, we can step outside of dysfunction for authentic self-evaluation. Before we begin, I want you to close your eyes, and think about what you think people ‘should look like’. Why do you think it matters? Jot it down. No judgment, just soul-searching excavation. * When you’re done, set it aside, and let’s look at some data. As you read, ponder this: what happens when we want to feel safe and secure in the world but live in a society designed to prey on our instinctual insecurities for profit? It’s not a movie plot or conspiracy theory. Understand the environment and thrive.

Body Image STATS

According to research published by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), 91% of college-age women report body image issues.

91 %!!!! In other words, we’ve decided that the desire to look ‘normal’ (aka like today’s cover models) is worth the majority of people living unhappy with their own body image. #NotCool

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) also reports that over the past three decades, the percentage of men who are unhappy with their bodies has risen from 15% to 43%.

So, ‘what happened in 30 years to create a 28% increase in male body image distortion?’ Easy: Niche marketing that created new insecurities and capitalized on it. For example, men of the ’90s weren’t yet shamed for “dad-bod”; it just wasn’t a thing yet.

FACTS

We live in a consumer-driven society.
Body image problems support the multi-billion dollar weight loss and anti-aging businesses.
Negative body image increases problems like depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, self-injury, eating disorders, etc.
The most common contributors to negative body image are cultural/societal norms, media, and family.
Modern media skews our interpretations of what an ‘ideal body’ should look like.
Health is essential, but it’s more than physical.

Yogic Imagery Vs True Yogic image

Yoga is for Everybody, via every physical body shape and size that manifests as a human being in this life. With radical acceptance and loving-kindness, we learn to transcend the judgments of popular public opinion and start loving ourselves where we’re at. As we are. Thru our practice, we are learning to see the truth beyond the false idea that we are our body. We live within our bodies to connect with the physical world. Sure, we want to be both healthy and body-positive, but first, we need to learn how to be kinder to the outside layer of the soul container that gazes back at us from the mirror.

Living Yoga

“Yoga isn’t about looking your yoga; it’s about living your yoga.”

– Joni Yung

False-identification is confusing the nature of the seer or Self with the nature of the instrument of perception. In other words, false identification happens when we mistake the mind, body, or senses for the true Self.

—Yoga Sutra 2.6

Trade body loathing for Gratitude & Loving-Kindness:

See with new eyes.
Recognize media that objectifies physical bodies and perpetuates unrealistic stereotypes.
Monitor the type, tone, and frequency of your media intake.
Consciously discern what you value about pursuits of health, beauty, and social assimilation.
Celebrate your whole person, rather than just physical appearance.
Consider where your intrinsic ‘worth’ and ‘merit’ stems from.
Embrace healthy behaviors for yourself and model those for others.
Accept aging as a natural part of life.
Make peace with the changing facets of your body container.
Rather than lamenting lines, wrinkles, and gray hair, recognize these as proof of life.

Make Peace Within

At the end of the day, we serve ourselves best thru love and let comparison fall away. As you practice radical self-acceptance, you realize that although the body is to be appreciated & embraced, it’s only a sliver of what is. It is certainly not the sum total of who you are. Love it, live and experience thru it and don’t ever let it outshine the vibrant soul sitting underneath. As a result, you remember that you are whole, just as you are. Moreover, you drop the distortion and learn to thrive.

Namaste Lovelies!

~Meg