Latest / RiseUp - Live Joy Your Way / Ep. 15 – Body Image

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Ep. 15 – Body Image · RiseUp - Live Joy Your Way

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Today's episode is produced by my friends at Walk West.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you're looking to grow your brand and generate leads through podcast or video production, head over to walkwest.com.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's start the show.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Rise Up.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Live Joy Your Way with Comedy Wood.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to step into your power.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Rise Up, Live Joy Your Way.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: I am Comedy Wood, and beyond hosting this podcast, I am a certified life coach that works with individuals on healing that relationship with themselves so that they can stop outsourcing their self-worth, go forward, have healthier relationships, and define success and happiness as they see it.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: Today I wanted to tackle the topic of body image and confidence.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: With summer being upon us, I think it would be a good time to bring this very important topic back up.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: I know that many people struggle with how they see themselves in terms of their own body image.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: So let's just start at the very beginning.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Body image is the mental and emotional picture that we have of our bodies.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: A healthy body image means that you feel good about your body and that you accept yourself as you are.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: However, a healthy body image is more than loving just the way you look.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: It also involves recognizing your strengths and qualities that make you feel good about yourself beyond just your appearance.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: A number of factors contribute to the way that we feel about ourselves.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: So besides body image, the factors would include our intellectual and physical abilities, our interests, our social skills, and just the way that other people perceive us.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: So as I said, many people have a negative body image.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: They give too much attention to either what they perceive as flaws, whether those are real or imagined.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, we are as a society flooded with images via television, media, magazines, what have you, we're flooded with images that are considered perfect.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: The perfect body, the perfect look, the perfect hairstyle.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, many of these pictures are photoshopped or filtered or edited, but when we're flooded with them, our subconscious takes them in and we perceive them as something that we are supposed to try to we're trying, we're supposed to try to attain in our own body.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: And uh these standards of beauty make us feel somewhat inadequate in our own skin.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: There is a strong pressure to, especially, let's let's be clear, there's a strong pressure amongst all of us, but then of course we add in the adolescents and young adults to somehow meet this idea of perfect body.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so what happens is there is this constant comparison of ourselves with other people, and we could we could perceive these other people as either happier or enjoying life more, and we associate it with this perfect body that they seem to be carrying around based on the pictures that we're seeing on social media and so forth.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: And we have this cons this persistent need to compare ourselves with other people around us, which honestly can cause not just a negative body image, but can also cause us just loneliness, anxiety, and lead to depression.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Recent studies have actually shown that 60% of people who use social media identify negative effects that social media has on their confidence and self-esteem.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: It causes them to feel uncomfortable and imperfect.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: Social media also creates a gap between how we present ourselves online and who we really are, triggering feelings of low self-esteem, williness, anxiety, and depression.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: And what I mean by that is we feel compelled to portray ourselves in a certain light on social media, which may not be accurate as to who we really are in real life, but we think we have to present ourselves in a certain way in order to be accepted.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, some ideas of how to promote a healthy body image.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, we have to focus on our positives, focus on the positive things about your appearance.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, try not to complain about yourself, dress in a way that makes you feel comfortable and you feel good about yourself.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not about necessarily getting whatever new fashion is displayed on uh social media or on magazines unless you actually feel comfortable in those clothes.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: That would be a way to promote a positive self-image where you feel comfortable in what you're wearing.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: So instead of focusing on TV or internet and comparing yourself to what you see, it's feeling comfortable with who you are and how you are presenting yourself.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, the second thing is positive affirmations.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: So we need to add into our daily practice these positive statements about ourselves.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's so easy to let the inner critic take over and judge ourselves on a daily basis.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really important to get into this practice of boosting your self-love and self-acceptance.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: So some things that would be helpful to say to yourself on a daily basis is I love my body, I feel good about my body, I am strong and healthy, I love being physically fit, I love and accept myself, I respect myself, I am beautiful the way I am.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Which leads me to this other thought, which is recognizing the magnificence of what our body does for us on a daily basis.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: So when we really break it down and we think about it, our body is doing amazing things for us every single day.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: When you think about our circulatory system, for instance, you know, our heart is constantly pumping every single day, bringing life to every cell in your body.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: This amazing organ of your heart literally weighs what 11 ounces, but this muscle tirelessly pumps blood throughout our entire body all day, every day.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: We don't even have to think about it.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's doing its job every single day.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: When we think about our skeletal system, we have 206 bones in our body that are literally carrying us around every single day and getting us from place to place.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: Our muscles that are in our body are helping us, you know, stand up straight and do the things that we do on a daily basis.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: When we're sitting and having coffee with friends, it is this magnificent body that allows us to sit there and enjoy coffee with our friends.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, our eyes allow us to see, our ears allow us to hear, our mouth allows us to taste the food that we're eating, our hands allow us to touch.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: These are amazing things that our body does every single day, and yet when we have a negative body image, we are so quick to put ourselves down and to put our body down, and it's a process of recognizing that who we are and and this body that we we are in, our spiritual being is walking around in this human body, this human body is doing amazing things on a daily basis.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when you consider when you consider the things that your body does every single day um in terms of even fighting off viruses, you know, as we especially as we've been facing this pandemic, I mean, yes, there have been so many lives lost, but when we think about it, our bodies do everything it can to protect us on a daily basis.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, our skin, for instance, is like this amazing thing that keeps the rest of our organs safe.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And while it seems so trivial when you're talking about body image to start talking about the insides of your body, meaning your bones, your muscles, your heart, it's it's so important to recognize that those are the things that make up our body.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: So instead of constantly only judging ourselves by how much weight we're carrying around or by that pimple or blemish that's on our face, we have to recognize that our bodies are doing these incredible things on a daily basis.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: And if we could really start to appreciate our body and appreciate who our core self is and move beyond the negative that we are constantly focusing on, right?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: So challenge those negative thoughts when we hear those negative voices in our head, notice them.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Notice that we're having these self-critical thoughts just simply about our appearance, and take a minute to reflect on the great things that your body is able to do on a daily basis.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Reflect and appreciate your health, appreciate the strength, appreciate the skills, because it's so important that we recognize that we are more, our body is more than just one aspect of how we look on the outside.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when we can get up each and every day, and we can remember how amazing we are, and how amazing our body is for allowing us to have a restful night's sleep, or you know, that our body was able to get us up in the morning and we're getting dressed.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: And we move from those negative into the positive as we increase the appreciation, we are able to move from this negative spiral space into this positive way of seeing ourselves, which will elevate our mood.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: One exercise that actually I have given clients in the past and would invite you all to try out would be at several times during the course of your day, but at a minimum, when you're brushing your teeth in the morning and night, really look at yourself in the mirror.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Look yourself in the eyes and notice with appreciation something that is right about your body, something that you appreciate about your body, look yourself in the eyes and say to yourself how much you appreciate that point about your body.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, for instance, if you notice that you have gorgeous eyes and you feel like that is something that's really great about my body, look yourself in the eyes and appreciate your eyes.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: If you really love the fact that your hair looks a certain way or is a certain color, just acknowledge that and do this, do this morning and night, morning before you really start your day, and night so it's the last thing that you're really saying to yourself before you go to sleep.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's so important that if you can appreciate yourself and consistently appreciate yourself, so for a minimum when you're doing this, try it out for a week and then increase, increase what you're appreciating on a daily basis.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe we move from just appreciating our eyes to appreciating something else.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: But when we get into this habit and this pattern and practice of appreciating ourselves, we're able to move beyond this negative body image into more of a positive way of looking at ourselves.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: And we can move beyond comparing ourselves to other people constantly because we're starting our day and ending our day actually recognizing how special we are.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I talk about this all the time, just in terms of even how we show up in the world and and when we constantly are looking outside of ourselves to define our self-worth.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's so important to reset and really start recognizing that our uniqueness is what this world needs.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Our uniqueness is a gift, and it's not about looking like every other person, it's about appreciating the uniqueness of how our body was created and recognizing how right it is, how right it is, and that sure, we may want to lose a few pounds for our overall health because maybe it's not great for our heart, but instead of it just being about the pounds, it's about appreciating who we are as an individual and recognizing that our worth is not defined by how our body looks on the outside, it's always an inside-out job.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: So we focus on ourselves as a whole person and we learn that there is much more beyond ourselves than just our body, but we also recognize how much our body is doing on a daily basis.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, with that, if you ever are wanting to talk and discuss what's coming up in your life, whether it be stresses over body image or stresses over relationships gone bad, or not being able to find the right one, or just anxieties that you're facing, and you'd like some support with that, I would invite you to reach out, schedule a time to talk with me.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: You can grab a time at chatwithcomedy.com or simply visit me on my website at comedywood.com and send me an email.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_01: I am happy to talk with you.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: I just really want to encourage every single person that as you go through each and every day, take some time, take some time to appreciate who you are and what you bring to this world.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: And until next time, I am Comedy Wood.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to Rise Up.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Always remember your uniqueness and the gift that you bring to this world.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Life happens for you, not to you.