Post by tapati on Nov 5, 2009 8:40:09 GMT -5
I had originally planned for 4 days of assignments and then we extended our carnival. So, here are some bonus body image enhancing activities. If you have been too busy with other aspects of our carnival to keep up with the assignments, you might want to print them out and save them in a folder or binder to work on in the coming months. Maybe you can partner up with a friend or a group of friends. Some of these activities will require a partner.
*Find out your real size. A lot of women have distorted body images and imagine they are even larger than they are, or smaller. It is good to find out your true size and see the evidence right in front of you (if size is your issue, of course). One activity we've used in workshops is to provide butcher paper or other large paper and have women pair up. One woman lies down on top of the paper and the other draws an outline. Once each woman has an outline it can be compared to the mental image that woman has of herself. This can be very revealing! Many times we've seen surprise in our participants over the real size versus the distorted size in their heads. I myself remember thinking I was just enormous as a teenager, just 25 or 30 pounds over the charts for my height.
The outline can also be decorated later and hung on the wall.
*A mold can be made of a part of your body, preferably a part of your body you feel conflicted about. Here's a set of instructions for doing so on the face but the principle can be applied to any part of your body you'd like to apply it to--other than the really delicate parts, of course.
www.artlex.com/ed/Maskmaking.html
www.pregnancy-health-center.com/belly-cast.html
When the mold is complete and has dried, decorate it! Hang it on your wall or prop it on a surface and admire it (you)!
*Make a mix CD or playlist of body image enhancing songs to listen to throughout the day.
*Start a body image journal and record your thoughts and assignments there. Keep an ongoing dialog with your body, keep track of self care efforts such as exercise and healthy eating, getting enough rest.
*Body gratitude: each day think of three things you are grateful to your body for and write them down.
*Phone a friend! Find a partner who is working on body image and phone each other when you are having a particularly bad body image day or moment. Sometimes you need a reality check to get out of your head and stop replaying the negative body image messages over and over again.
*Make a list of negative things you think about your body, phrases you find yourself repeating regularly to your self. Once you can see them, write a counter to them using rational thought and self love. Make some affirmations out of those positive counter-programming phrases and post them around the house. Make an effort to stop yourself when the negative message comes to mind and replace it with the positive. If you have a hard time with the positive end of this assignment, trade your list with your partner and work on each other's.
*No matter what your beliefs about God are, your body is your temple, your only dwelling place. Honor your body for the work it does in carrying you through the world. Honor each part of your body for the work it does in keeping you alive. Honor the wounded or disabled parts of your body for their valiant struggle to function for so many years and empathize with the pain or dysfunction they experience now.
Hating your body serves no useful purpose--not even as motivation for healthy weight loss. Self hatred sets us up for abandoning such efforts as soon as we've given in to the desire to binge or go off our diet or missed a day of exercise. A self loving approach to take care of our body as our ally in this life is more likely to get results. (I lost 60 pounds without dieting after my initial body image work.)
Happy Body Image!
*Find out your real size. A lot of women have distorted body images and imagine they are even larger than they are, or smaller. It is good to find out your true size and see the evidence right in front of you (if size is your issue, of course). One activity we've used in workshops is to provide butcher paper or other large paper and have women pair up. One woman lies down on top of the paper and the other draws an outline. Once each woman has an outline it can be compared to the mental image that woman has of herself. This can be very revealing! Many times we've seen surprise in our participants over the real size versus the distorted size in their heads. I myself remember thinking I was just enormous as a teenager, just 25 or 30 pounds over the charts for my height.
The outline can also be decorated later and hung on the wall.
*A mold can be made of a part of your body, preferably a part of your body you feel conflicted about. Here's a set of instructions for doing so on the face but the principle can be applied to any part of your body you'd like to apply it to--other than the really delicate parts, of course.
www.artlex.com/ed/Maskmaking.html
www.pregnancy-health-center.com/belly-cast.html
When the mold is complete and has dried, decorate it! Hang it on your wall or prop it on a surface and admire it (you)!
*Make a mix CD or playlist of body image enhancing songs to listen to throughout the day.
*Start a body image journal and record your thoughts and assignments there. Keep an ongoing dialog with your body, keep track of self care efforts such as exercise and healthy eating, getting enough rest.
*Body gratitude: each day think of three things you are grateful to your body for and write them down.
*Phone a friend! Find a partner who is working on body image and phone each other when you are having a particularly bad body image day or moment. Sometimes you need a reality check to get out of your head and stop replaying the negative body image messages over and over again.
*Make a list of negative things you think about your body, phrases you find yourself repeating regularly to your self. Once you can see them, write a counter to them using rational thought and self love. Make some affirmations out of those positive counter-programming phrases and post them around the house. Make an effort to stop yourself when the negative message comes to mind and replace it with the positive. If you have a hard time with the positive end of this assignment, trade your list with your partner and work on each other's.
*No matter what your beliefs about God are, your body is your temple, your only dwelling place. Honor your body for the work it does in carrying you through the world. Honor each part of your body for the work it does in keeping you alive. Honor the wounded or disabled parts of your body for their valiant struggle to function for so many years and empathize with the pain or dysfunction they experience now.
Hating your body serves no useful purpose--not even as motivation for healthy weight loss. Self hatred sets us up for abandoning such efforts as soon as we've given in to the desire to binge or go off our diet or missed a day of exercise. A self loving approach to take care of our body as our ally in this life is more likely to get results. (I lost 60 pounds without dieting after my initial body image work.)
Happy Body Image!