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Thunder Thighs: How to Love Our Pesky Endomorphic (and Other Flawed) Parts By Barbara Moroney, based on the book "Natural Body, Natural Shape" |
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Thunder thighs. What an appropriate description of the loud, earthshakingly emotional intensity women often feel for the body parts they consider flawed. Studies show that most women are more concerned about their flaws than the world will ever notice. As a woman, I speak from this experience. When my stomach is fat, it is not a little fat; it fills the mental and emotional space within me. When my stomach is fat, I am fat. |
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My stomach has been my endomorphic challenge for most of my life, and my yoga practice has helped me to meet that challenge. An endomorph is one of three body types classified by W. H. Sheldon. Endomorphs have soft bodies that gain fat easily. I am not an endomorph; however, my stomach is, which is why I have hated it for so long. And I feel certain I am in the company of the majority of women. When asked in an interview why she does not profile women who love their bodies, Eve Ensler, playwright and author of “The Good Body,” replied it was because she didn’t know of any. I don’t, either. I cannot think of one woman I know well who does not dislike some aspect of her body. Adding to our dilemma is the feeling that we should love our bodies. I have noticed that women often fluctuate between expressing hatred of their bodies and then retracting the sentiment. For example, I had lunch with a friend who, when the talk turned to our bodies, expressed hatred for her legs. Then almost as if she realized the enormity of what she had admitted, she backed off, saying of course she did not really hate them. Which leads me to wonder, do we actually hate our bodies or do we expect love to be something it is not? What does it mean to love our bodies?
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Perhaps we have this romantic wish that one day we will fall in love with our bodies and blissfully ride off into the proverbial sunset. It helps to recognize that loving our bodies is a process as much as it is a goal—like the kind of struggle we have in a relationship. We may begin with the feeling of being “in love,” but once the courtship passes, we face the daily challenge of what it takes to live happily with another person. Ideally respect, trust, and affection develop and deepen over time. And instead of creating body image goals that may not fit our body type or be healthy, we let our goals emanate from the growth that comes from the process. A relationship with your body encompasses the ups and downs of everyday living that are part of the process of love. I remember a yoga student commenting that although she had not yet learned to love her body, yoga had taught her more respect for it. Certainly respect is one aspect of the love we are seeking. As a practitioner of yoga, you develop a relationship with your body through daily communication. Sometimes you may be frustrated because you cannot do something you did the day before. Sometimes you may be excited about a new level of strength or flexibility you have reached. Other times a session feels more average. Yoga teaches you to observe these emotions, let them go, and replace them with a more a neutral perspective that leads to patience, tolerance, and yes, more love and respect. This is great antidote to the earthshakingly emotional judgments we make about our appearance. Try this: When you focus on the process of loving your body, you stay focused in the present. Breathe deeply and evenly. Feel your whole body. Ask yourself what you can do today to feel good about your body and to make it healthy. Then do it, if possible. Begin each day with this question and let the answers come to you. Let us know what you experience. Check back next month for our feature article entitled "Natural Body Shape: Your Personal Beauty Template." Sign up to receive our monthly feature article via e-mail. |
Previous Topics Yoga Nidra: Natural Rx for Insomnia? In Search of a Natural Body Weight ‘Put Your Foot in Your Mouth’ – The Value of Good Flexibility and a Strong Spine Cultivating Your Natural Body Shape Through Yoga Looking for an article? Check our Archives |
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