Negative Body Image: On a Scale of 1-10... No Scale

Imagine a culture in which a society logged onto computers to measure how it felt. A time, in which people were so disassociated from their bodies they would need a machine to dictate their emotional state.

That time is here. Culturally we have reached a point of disembodiment. We step on the scale and let a number tell us how we feel about ourselves. We measure grams and calories as an assessment of how healthy we feel paying  scant attention to how the foods we eat (or don’t eat!) actually make us feel.

97 percent of women have at least one self-loathing "I hate my body" moment per day regardless of their shape or size.

We all have an intuitive understanding that love of the body and love of life are inseparable. Our bodies are the gateways to our spirits and when we retaliate against the body, we lose the path to our deeper sense of self and purpose.

While modern culture measures feminine value by appearance, the deeper feminine aspect (within men as well) is about being embodied, ever changing, sensuous, heart-felt, soul oriented, and nourished.

When we feel that our bodies don’t meet the cultural expectations, we abandon them and live from our intellect (which isn’t always the kinder of the two!) By abandoning the body, we abandon the true feminine self.

Hating  the body, we pull out of it emotionally, energetically, and metabolically.

Matters of weight, impaired digestion, fatigue, low immunity, mood swings, depression, or anxiety, often originate in disembodiment. The stress physiology stemming from our negative body image can cause the diminishment of calorie and fat burning capabilities.

We must learn to be in our bodies on their own terms. We can love our bodies and still want it to change them. But if we say to ourselves “I’ll only love you when you look a certain way,” it is like saying “I’ll only get in the car after it reaches its destination.” It’s an impossible journey if we’re not present for the ride.

Eliminate the practices that support the surface feminine. De-number yourself so that you’re not relying on something outside of you to tell you if you’re okay. When it comes to body image numbers numb us.  Looking to a machine to tell us how to feel is a form of insanity.

Eat for nourishment, not for appearance. Take away the scales and feel each day how your body feels. Move in ways that feel therapeutic (stop hating yourself into exercise and move in ways that you enjoy,) slow down during meals (yes the benefits far outweigh the discomfort,) and take a break from friends who self-loathe.

How many grams of love in a single serving?

Anna Lynne McCord: How Authentic Living Heals Body Image

I first heard of Anna Lynne McCord (an actress on the new 90210) a few weeks ago when she decided to tweet her face without makeup, writing: “I woke up this morning and decided I’m over Hollywood’s perfection requirement. To all my girls (and boys) who have ever been embarrassed by their skin! I salute you! I’m not perfect – and that’s okay with me!”

This got me thinking about the relationship between body image and authentic living.

Most of us hide our authenticity. We hide our blemishes, our curves, our insecurities, and our feelings.

When we are being inauthentic, we instantly shut down to divert away from the surfacing discomfort. Pretending to be anything rather than what we are numbs us out. Similarly when we hate our body, we abandon it. We divert into our intellectual selves where feelings can be concealed.

We have the same coping mechanisms for both negative body image and inauthentic living. We emotionally and energetically disembody.

Inauthenticity comes when we feel we can’t speak our minds with our superiors, when we pretend things are not hurtful even though they are, when we hide our vulnerability, when we smile and say “good” when people ask us how we’re doing.  

The numbing effect of inauthentic living conceals our connection to the greater source. Our path to purpose resides within the body and with no connection to it; the body transforms from being our greatest tool to being our greatest hindrance. Intuitively connecting purpose to body, we channel our dissatisfaction with not feeling purposeful into body hate. 

The more authentic we become, the more embodied we become. Embodiment is the number one method for healing negative body image.

While Anna Lynne McCord may have spoken up about body image, the embodiment didn’t come from revealing her looks, it came from speaking her truth. By speaking her truth, she took a step forward into self-acceptance, inspiring others to do the same.

I guess 90210 still has something to offer long after the days of Brandon and Brenda Walsh.

Quick Bread

When it comes to the health of our intestinal tract, when choosing a bread, the slow and natural leavening of a sourdough bread is the way to go.

However, lunch time is soon and some bread would be nice...

Having no bread in the house and left over packets of flour sitting in the pantry, why not whip up a quick and easy loaf?

The flours I used where the ones I happen to have around, but most types will work.

To make 2 loafs: 
2 cups sprouted wheat flour
2 cups whole spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbs honey
2 Tbs ghee  (or other oil)
Pinch of salt
1.5- 2 cup almond milk (or other)

Preheat oven to 450.
Whisk together honey, milk, and oil.
Mix together flours, salt and baking powder.
Gradually add the liquid mixture to the flour until a dough is formed.
Split and shape into two loaves (they will be rather small in size.)
Bake for 20 minutes.

Consciously Moving Through the Game of Life

Yoga speaks of the universe as composed of two basic realities: The realm of Pure Spirit Consciousness (Parusha) and the realm of Material Phenomenon, which observes and experiences life (Prakriti.)

Many classical teachings tell us that union with the divine is reached by freeing ourselves of our material body and reabsorbing back into Pure Consciousness.

Some interpretations suggest that life’s purpose is just to get the hell out of this reality.

But what if the embodied life is a sacred gift rather than something we need to escape from? While we are all innately interconnected as a whole, did the universe not willingly choose to manifest diversity?

The tantric tradition teaches that the universe purposefully concealed itself within us for no reason other than its own delight of rediscovering itself. Like a game of hide and seek; consciousness hides for the fun of being found. This is the beauty of duality. It is only through the limited that the unlimited can be known. We are the reflection of divinity. The body is not inferior to spirit; it is the gateway to it.

It is not by disengaging from our surroundings that we learn the most, but from observing our relationship to them. We learn so much about ourselves through our relationships with others; our partners, families, supervisors, food, bodies, and the planet.

We embrace diversity to find a greater unity.

‘You are the point the universe is trying to make.’ (Douglas Brooks)
The universe manifested itself as you. Ah, you are sacred.

Everything is pure just as it is. Even when we feel separated from all that is divine, it is that feeling of separation that fuels the desire to connect. What we can feel, we can heal. The obstructions are part of the sacred 'hide and seek' design.

There is nothing from which to free our selves. We are already free. But what are are we attaching our freedom to? After all, we are equally free to attach to our fears as we are to our divinity.

Home Made Almond Milk

1/2 cup Almonds
1/4- 1/2 cup Pitted dates (or equal amounts of maple syrup)
1 Tbs vanilla bean
5 cups of water

Put everything in the blender and blend till smooth. Run through a cheese cloth or a fine strainer and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

The dates produce a creamier date which is great if you have the milk on your own. If you use the milk for cereals, you can use a lot less sugar as the sugar in the cereal will be enough to sweeten the meal.
This tastes great in teas too!

The Benefits of Juicing

Fresh Juice! I love juicing. I feel like every cell in my body says thanks when I take the first sip.

Juice is  yet another controversial topic in the world of nutrition. Nutrition brings controversy because nature encourages diversity. Amen to that!

Juicing can be extremely healing; especially for those of us who forget that when eating, chewing precedes swallowing (hey there fast eaters!). The juicing process makes the nutrients of the vegetables and fruits readily available for absorption. Juicing (and blending) saves the body digestive energy, allowing more energy to be put towards healing and detoxification.

Especially with juicing greens, the separation of chlorophyll from its fibers will allow for easy assimilation of this green sunlight energy. Chlorophyll is the Fast Track to our main sources of life: oxygen and liquid sunlight.

Most store bought juices (unless otherwise noted) have been pasteurized and no longer contain the nutritional benefits of fresh juice. Almost all contain more sugar than nutrients.

We have to be careful with juicing to not have too much sugar. When juicing fruits and vegetables, all the fiber is removed. Nature is perfect; she packages the perfect ratio of fiber to sugar in our fruits and vegetables to keep our blood sugar levels somewhat stable. However removing the fiber (which is there to keep us full) can easily flood our system with too much sugar.  Beware breakfast orange juice drinker… You could be setting yourself up for a crash with sugar or caffeine cravings later in the day.

While we will benefit from juice’s high levels of readily available nutrients, eating solid foods is what will keep the digestive system strong as these nutrients  move more slowly through the digestive track. Eating fibrous vegetables gives the body time to break down and absorb the nutrients it might miss in the quick assimilation of juice.

It is also recommended to “chew” your juice when drinking in order to create some saliva, an important component to digestion.

The most important thing to be aware of when juicing is that you do not juice too much fruit or sweet root vegetables. I recommend fruit or sweet roots (like carrots) be no more than a third of your juice. This can be difficult because, admittedly, carrot juice is really delicious! Eventually you will use even less than a third, as you get more adventurous (you can juice most anything.) The sweet juices are great as a treat, but minimizing the sugar content will prove to be the healthiest way in the long run.
The greens are miracle workers but can sometimes be bitter. Lemons are great to add to every juice; the citric will neutralize the bitterness (not to mention the vitamin C!).

There are many juicers our there for purchase. If you are new to  juicing, cheaper juicers work quite well. Keep in mind that most basic juicers require you to drink your juice right after juicing. Not to worry- juicing and clean up takes me a total of 5(ish) minutes.

Or you could try juicing the old fashioned way… chimpanzees often chew fibrous foods to remove the juice before discarding the fiber, and gorillas juice by filling their mouths with leaves and fruit, using the mass of leaves to press the juice out of the fruit, then discarding the fiber. Personally, I’ll keep using the juicer.

Juice Bars Around Boston

Boston is not yet abundant in health food restaurants but there are unpasteurized juices in various locations:

JOOS: delivers juice to a depot near your home after you order it online. The product is organic and of very high quality, juiced fresh before delivery.

Prana Cafe: in Newton/ Watertown

Red Lentil: Watertown

Life Alive: Cambridge

Blue Shirt Cafe: Somerville

570 Market: South End

Trident Bookstore and Cafe: Boston

(Please share with the community if you know any other juice bars around Boston by commenting on this post.)

Juice Recipes From The Film 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead'

Apple-Pear
1 Apple
2 Pears
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Carrot-Kale Combo
1 Green Apple
3 Handfuls spinach
6-8 Kale Leaves
4 Large Carrots
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Green Lemonade
1 Green Apple
3 Handfuls Spinach
6-8 Kale Leaves
½ Cucumber
4 Celery Stalks
½ Lemon

All Green
Use as much greens as needed
Romaine Hearts
Kale or Collards
Spinach
2 Handfuls Parsley
2-3 Celery Stalks
½ Lemon
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

Apple-Beet-Carrot
1 Apple
2 Beets
3 Large Carrots
1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)
Spinach / Kale – (optional)

Spinach-Fennel-Cucumber
1 Fennel Bulb
1 Cucumber
2-3 Celery Stalks
Loads of Spinach

Mean Green
1 Bulk of kale
4 Stalks of celery
1 Cucumber
2 granny smith apples
½ lemon
Ginger root (thumb sized)