Body Image Reset: Week 3
REDIRECT THE THOUGHTS
Omigosh! Week 3! You’re doing amazing! This week is when we are going to start to take control of the things that we think about ourselves on the daily. This is going to take some intentional foresight and thought, but it will be amazing once we do it. Sometimes it’s easier talking to someone else, particularly someone who is younger, so for this week, you are going to need to use the photos of yourself at different ages and we are going to think about how we could have helped little you’s body image!
The Steps:
Continue the practice from week 1 + 2
Pull out images of your younger self and use your journal to think about their body image journey and write down what you might say to them if you were able to travel back in time and meet your younger self.
Tape those images of yourself up on your mirror as a reminder.
CURIOSITY
Use the following questions below and journal your answers. Continue with the same questions as week 1, and then add on the additional questions:
What did you feel right before looking in the mirror/at the photograph? Were you nervous, anxious, etc.? What did it feel like in your body?
What were you afraid of seeing?
When was the first time I heard these words from someone else?
Who taught me this way of thinking/that this body part shouldn’t look like this?
What am I making these parts of my body mean? (for example, if I think my thighs are big and disgusting - what does it mean if they ARE big and disgiusting?)
What was my energy/mindset like before I did this activity? (were you stressed out, tired, happy, joyful, etc.?)
What is a neutral thought I could have to replace the current thoughts I have? (ie. I think my thighs are big and disgusting -> I have thighs
As you touched your body, what thoughts floated to the surface?
Had anyone else said those words to you when they touched your body?
What areas did you struggle with touching compassionately/with kindness?
Did you witness anyone else struggle with kind touches to their body?
What do you EXPECT your body to feel like vs. what it ACTUALLY feels like?
If you had to describe your body to an alien who landed here on earth, how could you describe it? (remember, they don’t know about beauty standards, so they don’t know words like: ugly, gross, beautiful, pretty, etc.)
If you heard a 5 year old saying those things about their body - what would you tell them?
If you heard a 10 year old saying those things about their body - what would you say?
What do you wish your teenage self knew about their body?
What experiences did younger you go through that could have impacted the feeling of safety within your body? How can you reassure them that you are safe now?
How can you empower the younger version of you to see that they are more than just their body?
YOUR DAILY PRACTICE FOR THE WEEK:
Continue doing your 20 minutes of looking at/touching your body and being curious about the outcome. Every day, I want you look at the things you say to yourself and imagine they are coming from a younger version of yourself and write out your rebuttal. It can look like this:
”My stomach is flabby and gross” -> “Listen, 7 year old Teri, tums are meant to change and grow and shift with time. That’s what they do. Sometimes they get big, sometimes they get smaller, but they are just doing what bodies do. It doesn’t mean you are less of a person because your tum is soft.”
How can you empower your younger self to think differently?
At the end of the week, look at your journal entries and see if there are any trends/patterns.
Feel free to use the comment section at the bottom of each week to let me know how you are making out/what you are noticing! Also, feel free to reach out to me on instagram and share your practices by tagging me @terihofford ! You are not in this alone!
