How Do You View Your Body?

“The yardstick we use for ourselves is the yardstick we use for the world. The way you measure yourself is how you measure others, and how you assume others measure you.” - Unknown

We all have a yardstick, a way of measuring and comparing. We use this yardstick to make assumptions or judgments about our self and others. Unlike an actual yardstick, however, this personal measuring system is influenced by perceptions, thoughts, feelings and experiences. Depending on these variables, anyone’s yardstick is susceptible to becoming distorted, inaccurate, even harmful - especially when measuring subjective views of the body.

Today, I sit here working on a presentation called Caring for the Body that I’ll give at a Wellness Retreat next weekend. I suppose my audience, given the title, expects to hear tangible advice on how to eat healthier and exercise more effectively. I’m sure I’ll give them a sufficient dose of both, but more importantly I’ll give them a chance to contemplate on the standards by which they measure their body. 

In this hyper-visual world fraught with channels of comparison and judgment it is obvious that we, as a culture, have become preoccupied and, in some cases, obsessed with body image. This very narrow and harsh way of thinking has sadly led to increased rates of mental distress. And while we already know this, sometimes it’s hard to see what’s under our nose. 

Perhaps space and time is the gift we truly need to separate our habits and thoughts, for indeed, there are healthier, kinder ways to draw conclusions. Listening to the body and using reflective questions as markers are a few examples. Questions like, Do I feel healthy? How optimally is my body functioning? Do my food choices energize or drain me? Am I ignoring any bodily aches and pains? 

Approaching the way we see our body with curiosity and a commitment to love, as opposed to slapping down a yardstick, might inspire and motivate us to change for the better. So may I ask you, how do you view your body? And, is your yardstick still of use to you?