When was the last time you put yourself first? Put your physical health, your mental well-being, your spiritual needs at the top of the list. What list? You know, the one where your kids, your husband, your animals, your job, your parents, your community, etc…are all prioritized according to importance and usually immediate needs. Where is loving yourself first on the list? Are you even ON the list?
Women are often the care-givers, the nurturers, the volunteers and increasingly, the income earners, managers, and CEO’s as well. The problem for many women is that they don’t recognize that by taking care of themselves first, they are positioning themselves to be able to do ALL the things that are waiting for them. What if we took care of ourselves in the same way that we take care of our kids? What would that look and feel like? Let’s start with a little self-care.
Self-care has been described as care provided “for you, by you.” It’s about identifying your own needs and taking steps to meet them. It is taking the time to do some of the activities that nurture you. Self-care is about taking proper care of yourself and treating yourself as kindly as you treat others. It should be built into everything we do. Much easier said than done for most of us.
That’s why I’m excited to share something that my friend Patricia Culbert is working on. Patty has spent the last decade researching ways to help others live healthy, authentic and meaningful lives. She first became aware of Taryn Brumfitt (a successful business owner, wife and mother of 3 from Australia) when she posted an unconventional before-and-after image online. Taryn, was struggling with her own body image issues, but eventually realized that what she really needed to change was in fact, not her body, but her attitude toward it. This began the Body Image Movement for Taryn, who believes that everyone has the right to love and embrace their body, regardless of shape, size, ethnicity or ability.
Supported by an enormously successful Kickstarter campaign, the conversations that began after Taryn’s viral ‘before and after’ photo, fuelled the creation of a documentary called Embrace, which explores the complicated relationship that women have with their bodies and body image. It had her traveling the globe talking to experts, women from across the world and also well-known personalities about the enormous issue of body loathing.
Patty, who herself was one of the Embrace 2014 Kickstarter supporters, became part of the Body Image Movement community. Following the movement and the development of the documentary during the last 3 years, she knew she wanted to support the Embrace release. Patricia and Loving Yourself First is pleased to be hosting a free screening of the documentary at the Nurture Health and Lifestyle Centre, located at 64 Dufferin St. in Bridgewater, NS. On 2/17/17 at 7:00pm. Patricia says, “We’ll watch the film, have some discussion, and start to learn how to love ourselves exactly as we are.”
Interested in inviting a few friends over and hosting your own Embrace, “Girls Movie Night In” in Atlantic Canada on 02/17/17? Connect with Patricia at Loving Yourself First for details. We can all be part of this important event and then come together for celebration and conversation via online streaming! What an amazing opportunity to reach out to your community and continue on Body Image Movement’s global journey to create positive change.
