How Are You Choosing To Live In Your Body As You Age?

It’s a clarifying question that encourages you to consciously decide if you are resisting your mid-life body or embracing it.

It shines the light of awareness on limiting beliefs that we all have about health, aging and body image.

Let’s face it mid life body changes are complicated and can even be traumatic. Some of us can start to feel betrayed by the body that we thought we knew so well after all these years or perhaps it’s just the perfect storm that fuels a life long struggle with body image even more.

Hardly anyone is totally immune to the messaging of society’s unrealistic beauty ideals and cultural biases.

But the truth is that all bodies change. We aren’t designed to look 25 when we’re 55, or 35 when we’re 65 etc.. Hormone levels shift, along with muscle mass, fat distribution, skin elasticity etc. It’s helpful to remind ourselves that all these changes are normal and natural. Our changing bodies are not personal or moral failings.

And yes it’s hard to watch your body change and learn how to really care for it and appreciate it in new ways. And yes it’s even harder to own the beauty that you are now when society only wants to validate you as you used to be.

But fighting body changes only fuels the toxic shame and guilt that de-rails our best intentions.

You can decide to end the battle and see that now more than ever your changing body is crying out for your kind attention and care.

It’s time to own the depth of your worth and beauty, take up space in the world and claim your right to be deeply nourished.

You can consciously choose to re-direct your energy to a whole new self care regime that that affirms your inherent value and cultivates a positive relationship with your body.

Here are my favorites:

1) Explore ways to move your body that make you feel strong, exhilarated and centered like yoga, pilates or Qi Gong and do it regularly.

2) Learn to tune in to your body: Eat when you are hungry. Rest when you are tired. Play and move when your body needs it.

3) Honor your body by wearing clothes that make you feel comfortable and well cared for.

4) Let go of media and social media feeds that are obsessed with body size, shape and perfect eating.

5) Meditate to connect with your true self, your inner being – the part of you that always sees you as whole, complete and enough.