Peace, Joy & Body Acceptance: Letting Peace & Joy Guide our Body Acceptance This Holiday
We always hear the words Peace & Joy thrown around this time of year and I thought, what better way to celebrate than to apply those concepts to our bodies. Looking for Body Peace & Body Joy these holidays will move you closer to Body Acceptance which is something that most of my dear readers are looking for. Below, I am going to be sharing my favourite methods for cultivating Body Peace & Body Joy and maybe some of these will spark something in you!
BODY PEACE
Whenever I want to move in the direction of something, I like to take the word and break it down to it’s definition to see if that’s truly what I want. When I breakdown peace, the following definitions are what populated for me:
peace /pēs/noun
noun: peace; noun: the peace
1.
freedom from disturbance; tranquility.
2.
a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended.
"the Straits were to be open to warships in time of peace"
And I really like these definitions because for many of us, our bodies have become the battleground for the wars we fight with ourselves and society. To move towards peace, means we are moving towards a state of no more friction and instead there is a tranquility about it. Therefore, when I think about Body Peace as less of a destination and more of a practice. If I want more Body Peace, I have to be more peaceful towards my body. Here’s what that looks like for me:
Body scans
Meditation
Checking in
Acknowledging pain and assigning it colors & textures to help me understand it more
Recognizing spaces, places & people that let me body relax
Clothing that allows my body to exist and move and shift
Removing myself from situations and media that makes me feel tense in my body
Massages
Acupuncture
Routine stretching
Hydrating
Eating foods that are calming and nourishing (for me that looks like soup, pho, sandwiches, poached eggs on toast)
Belly laughs with friends
Getting lost in the moment with my partner
Being in awe at nature
Sitting in the steam room with essential oils
Tea
Back rubs
Having my hair played with
Reading
Daydreaming
Mid-day naps
Goddess baths
Putting lotion all over this glorious body
All of these things feel really peaceful, luxurious, and like my body and I working together. With these activities, I am not thinking about what my body isn’t, instead I am just embracing it where it is.
BODY JOY
So, naturally, I did the same thing with Body Joy. I looked up the defintion of Joy:
joy /joi/ noun
noun: joy
a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
So naturally, for Body Joy I wanted to be thinking of how I could add more pleasure & happiness into my daily schedule, particularly since I live in the wintery kinda winter where SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) can take over. When I was a kid growing up on the farm, there was no shortage of cold, winter joy. We would build forts, go sledding, create pathways, build snowmans, and go for river walks to collect sticks and berries to make wreaths. When we were done outside, we would come inside and warm up with our toes over the heater, reading books under covers and sipping hot chocolate while the Disney Christmas episodes aired. Since becoming an adult, however, it has been harder to find the joy and therefore, it’s hard to find joy in my body. As you’ve heard me talk about many times over, when we are displeased with most areas of our lives, our bodies pay the price. We believe our lack of joy comes from not being thin enough, when in fact, I can assure you when I lost 100lbs I was no more joyful (if anything, I was less joyful because all I thought about was my body). Many of us blame the lack of joy on the aging of our bodies, when we are reminded of their limitations, yet a big part of that is that stretching and movement for many people is not a priority like it was when we were children. We get glued to our desks and taking care of others and our bodies adapt. So, I ended up making 2 lists for this one. The first is how my body helps me feel joy:
Snowboarding
Snow trudging at night or early morning (it’s so quiet)
Making traditional winter time foods
Eating stew & chili
Having friends over to do some crafting
Going skating
Walks along the river
Playing in the snow
Doing self portraits with fun outfits that I don’t want to wear for a lengthy duration, but still look cute in
Sliding with friends and laughing so hard it hurts
Bonfires & star gazing while bundled up
The feeling of a hot shower after playing outside
Snuggling up under fuzzy blankets to read books or watch holiday movies
Volunteering
Playing Christmas carols on the piano
Putting on my Christmas playlist while I shovel the snow
Playing board games with the husby
Inviting people over to bake cookies
The second list is how I can help my body feel joy:
Stretching after a bout of sitting
LOTS of water (even when you think you’ve had enough, have more)
Movement of any kind
Care & Attention
Drs Appointments
Dentist appointments (sigh)
Feeling safe
Being around people who love me unconditionally
Deep breaths
Crying
Laughing
Playing
All of these things bring me joy and allow me to experience joy with the body I have right now. Body Joy looks like allowing myself to play, express, and connect with other living things as well, as doing the things necessary to allow my body to experience joy and relief.
