"I was trying pants on and the sales clerk told me I should try wearing thong underwear so I wouldn't have a panty line. I told her I relied on my panty line so I could tell where my thighs end and my butt begins."
-Jodie Maruska
I did a humorous talk yesterday afternoon on the topic of body acceptance. I was part of a larger event that took place around an art exhibit titled "concealed/revealed", featuring these stunning life-size charcol drawings that explore the complex structure of the human body (clink on link below and drawing above.)
The artist, Emily Isenberg states that “The body is the source of our deepest pleasures and traumas. By revealing the concealed anatomy beneath the clothing and skin, exposing the complex layers of our bodies, bone, muscle, organs, veins, and spirit, we come to realize that we are the same underneath. Yet our stories and experiences, similarly complex, are still hidden.”
Her words and the drawings really resonated with me, and fortunately, I got to be a part of this exhibit and the event of yesterday as I shared my experience in a humorous talk that not only illustrated what I do to accept my size and shape, but how I got to this point in my life. I love what the artist said about all of us being the same, yet being shaped by our stories and experiences. How true is that? I told the story of father seeing me do stand up comedy in front of thousands of people. I rocked the stage that night; the audience loved me. But upon seeing me, my dad's first comment was "you looked a little heavy up there." How is that for a light bulb moment? It was definitely a growth moment for me as I finally got that my body, my size, was none of his business. And that if that's all he could see, that is was his problem and really, how sad for him. And that is one of the the messages I hope I provided my audience yesterday...and that I hope to continue presenting in this blog.
Dad and I have a good relationship by the way, but we do NOT talk about food, diets, exercise, weight, women's bodies...it is totally off-limits, but I am the one that had to set that boundary with him. And surprisingly, I did it without hurting him, and that's always a good thing!
My point is - no one has a right to tell you what to do with your body and to judge it in any way. And you have the complete right to tell anyone who does so to...well, not do it any more! What's the phrase I think I heard once? Your opinion of me is none of my business! I love that.
My talk was followed by laughter yoga, which was a blast and which I recommend to anyone looking for a new way to de-stress and to simply have some fun! No downward facing dogs required, but you still feel the workout while you laugh and build up body heat. I think it'd be great if you have limited mobility and if you have difficulty moving in certain ways pertaining to other yoga styles..and the fun thing is, you get to laugh uproariously the whole time! A unique and fun workout and a really incredible afternoon.
Laughter Yoga sounds fun!
ReplyDelete~Bianca~