Yoga and bodyimage

Body image is the way we perceive our body, the way we feel about our body, the way we think about our body. All of the above have an effect on how we treat our body.

When you are happy with your body, you will most likely treat your body with respect, and because of that also do your yoga practice with respect, enjoying purely doing it, able to be in the moment while practicing.

However, if you suffer from a voice in your head telling you you’re too thin, too fat, not strong enough, not muscular enough, not the right curves or too much curves, not as beautiful, or flexible as the girl next to you, chances are your yoga practice will be a reflection of that body image.

The way you practice will most likely be that you push yourself too hard to get thinner, create more muscles, etcetera. Or your confidence will be so low you’re not looking for your edges at all, always staying well within the comfort zone, thus never challenging your body, also never discover your greatness, your abilities.

What I would like for everybody is to be aware of your motivations, your voices, your body image. So you are aware what drives you. Than you can change.

Set an intention for yourself to make peace with your body, accept it the way it is, realize that our cultural body image is not realistic and crushes everybody’s self confidence. How you feel matters most, not what you think someone else might think, you’ll never win that game. The most beautiful people are suffering from the most terrible body images, because they believe they are totally dependent on other peoples opinions.

When you love yourself, respect yourself you’ll treat yourself well, your body will find its natural balance and you will be beautiful, from the inside out.

Esther Ekhart