If there is one thing that informs my yoga teaching it is helping people develop more balanced, joyful self-care and a relationship with their bodies guided by love, forgiveness and humor.
This flies in the face of what we so commonly encounter. Quite often we find people talking (including ourselves) about how unhappy they are with their physical appearance. Many times, this translates to a lot of our valuable resources of time, energy and intellect – not to mention money – get spent on trying to “fix” all those things we believe are “wrong” with ourselves.
I have been there. Oh, how many years at the beginning of November, did I decide to set aside taking good care of myself until January 1? A lot of people know this drill which revolves around those all-mighty New Years’ resolutions so that all the parties, food, and drink can be experienced without care.
Then, comes January which in my part of the world can be bleak. As I’m writing this, I’m watching freezing rain and sleet come down onto the brown earth surrounded by grey, bare trees. For all those years, January would seem even bleaker because of the added effort and deprivation involved in putting my self-program back in place.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve developed a more sustainable practice that does not involve such extremes. I know it is working because of my primary measuring stick: my level of happiness has greatly increased. And, a big part of this has been to become much more body positive. This has been a process of learning to relate to my body with kindness, improving my self-image and developing easy to maintain, healthy self-care behaviors using practical wellness tools. The resulting happiness springs from the greater confidence and self-love I’ve gained.
This process of becoming more body positive and happier in my own skin has not been a straight line – nothing ever is – but as a teacher, I naturally want that to be a straighter line for others. For this reason, a few years ago, I became a licensed Body Positive Facilitator. I have used the concepts and core teachings of the Be Body Positive Model as part of my underlying philosophy when I teach my regular gig on Tuesday nights, “Gentle Yoga for EveryBody”, but I’ve never rolled out the whole of the teaching in an offering. That is, until now!!!!
Coming on February 9, 2020, I am giving my Be Body Positive workshop at Life in Balance Yoga from 1 pm to 6 pm. There will be guided meditations and exercises as well as engaging teaching and storytelling. We are going to cover a number of key topics to help develop body positivity such as:
Being as kind to yourself as you are to others
Learning & growing through making mistakes
Developing sustainable exercise, rest and eating habits
Trusting your intuitive wisdom to help you make decisions and choices
And living with more freedom, confidence and joy!
For pricing and registration, please follow the link to the Workshop page for the Life in Balance website.
