Body Love
Can you remember what it felt like? Can you remember a time
when you felt so free inside of your body, so joyfully alive, that you
radiated? I think we all start out this way, knowing that our bodies are
instruments to live in and love. But somewhere along the way, for many of us,
our bodies become our enemies. They become something we need to control, to
manipulate, and yes, to punish. I was trying to think back in my life to
exactly when that shift happened. For something so monumental, you would think
that there would be a specific moment that would stand out.
I have memories of sunny days spent clambering over rocks
like a mountain goat, or floating down the Chilliwack river in an endless loop.
Jump, splash, swim, climb out, run back, repeat. I remember my first BMX with a
great tenderness. It was my first taste of freedom. Bike rides to the corner
store, where we traded pop bottles for candy. Riding back, sucking on a
lollipop, hands waving in the air. There was no self-conscious anguish about
how my body would appear to others. I lived inside my skin with a casual grace
and joyful abandon. When I was hungry, I ate. When I was tired I slept. When I
felt like dancing, I danced.
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| This photo by Bethany captures how I want to feel: | Radiant |
I remember not one moment, but a series of moments when
everything changed. The Sears bathing suit department. My mother insisting that
we needed to buy my new bathing suit from the women's section because my newly formed
breasts made the children's department bathing suits indecent. The women's
bathing suits had an extra layer to them, a brownish "flesh" coloured
liner to conceal the nipples that might announce my impending entrance into
womanhood. Said liner poked out of the top of my bathing suit during our school
trip to the YMCA pool, and was mistaken by one of my classmates for material I
had used to stuff my bra. His loud declaration across the pool brought
humiliation and shame. "She stuffed her bra!"
Another moment of bathing suit humiliation, again during a
class trip, this time to the waterslides. Another loud declaration in public.
"When was the last time you shaved your legs?" At 11 years old, the
answer was never.
I remember my father, clearly uncomfortable with my
burgeoning sexuality, retreating physically from me. He took to calling me
"Busty" that year. I remember boys, trying to fondle those breasts in
backyards and behind trees. I could not escape the fact that puberty hit early
and hard. My body was no longer my own. Wherever I went, people felt free to
judge it, to leer at it, and quite often, to grope it. I learned that my body
was too much. That I should hide it, because it was something shameful. My body
became my enemy.
I look at my children now, and I see that they live in this
state of oneness with their physical form. When a song comes on with an
infectious beat, they literally cannot stop themselves from moving. When they run,
they run because it feels good to do so. They inspire me to demand more of my
life than what I have become accustomed to.
I want to remember that freedom. I want to let go of
anything that gets between me and living joyfully inside of my skin. And I want
others to know that freedom with me. I hear so many women speak disdainfully
about their bodies. It is our language now, this language of too much or not
enough. This is how we speak of the sacred vessels we are gifted with. Instead
of feeling grateful for the miracle of legs that allow us to walk and run and
dance, we bemoan the cellulite on our thighs. Instead of celebrating the
bellies that nurtured our children as they grew in our wombs, we agonize over
our stretch marks. Instead of loving the evidence of a life filled with
laughter and sorrow and love, we complain about the lines around our eyes.
So do you remember? Do you remember a time before all of
this judgement and shame became a daily part of your dialogue? Do you remember
what it feels like to be truly free and joyful in your body? We are all little
miracles. And I want to remember that, every day. Will you join me?
Why?
When we don't love our bodies, we
don't love ourselves. When we don't love ourselves, we waste time, energy and
money trying to "fix" ourselves. When we don't love ourselves, we
make poor choices in our relationships, careers and finances. What if we could
spend that time, energy and money doing the things we love, the things that
light us up and make our world a better place? What if we could choose to live
joyfully inside of our bodies? We believe that every body deserves love,
starting with self love.
What?
An empowering and inspiring day
of speakers, joyful movement, and self reflection designed to make YOU love
your body!
When?
Coming February 2016 in beautiful
Port Moody, BC. The location is easily accessible by transit, and has plenty of
parking.
Who?
The brainchild of Joyelle Brandt,
author/illustrator of the children's book Princess Monsters from A to Z and the
upcoming One Act of Kindness. Joyelle is passionate about making the world a
kinder place for all of us to live in. She is putting together a group of
amazing people to co-create this event.
If you want create something awesome,
join us!
Send an e-mail to joyellebrandt@shaw.ca
along with your area of interest:
Fundraising
Volunteer Coordinator
Day of Volunteer
Social Media Cheerleader
Web Design
For more information visit our
Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/pages/Love-Your-Body-Summit/788614754558575
www.facebook.com/pages/Love-Your-Body-Summit/788614754558575
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