Be Good to your Temple

"Our body is a vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” - Buddha

by: Stephanie Horton

Body Image is powerful thought processes that can either bring you joy or present you with struggle. Negative body image has the potential to result in life-threatening conditions such as eating disorders, and today, millions of Americans are unhappy with their bodies. In fact, 80% of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance, and even scarier, 80% of children who are ten years old are afraid of being fat. 80%!!!! That is an incredibly large and disheartening number. We are living in a time when poor body image is eating us alive as it causes many to live without eating.

It’s time we start a body image revolution.

As many as 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting a life or death battle with an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia. Even though eating disorders are the leading killers among the mental illnesses, they receive the least amount of funding compared to other psychological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Schizophrenia. If you'd like to get involved and help in the fight against eating disorders, visit The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website for more information.

The path to self-love is no well-traveled road with signs and lane dividers. It can be dark at times, bright at others, but it’s always easy to get lost. We all encounter obstacles during the ride, but the destination remains the same: The point at which we treat ourselves with respect and gratitude.
Here are a few tips for celebrating yourself and your body:

1. Be committed to yourself - Everything starts at home, so work on loving yourself first.
2. View popular media with a critical eye, and remember that media is a story - not reality.
3. Write a letter to a company you think is doing a great job with advertising by providing inspiring messages that encourage the natural diversity of human beings. One of my favorites is Dove!
   
4. List 5 things about yourself that make you smile.
5. Look in the mirror and say, “I love my -fill in the blank-.”