TAPPING ON BODY POSITIVITY

In a world where we can compare ourselves to others 24/7 it's so easy to speak negatively about your body if it doesn't fit with what you're seeing on the news, in magazines or on social media. Body positivity doesn't always come easy but it's a powerful way to boost your self belief and love your body exactly the way that it is.

Body positivity is less about what you look like and more about how you feel. When you’re mental health is in a good place you can literally view your body in a different way. I want to share a short story with you…

Around 8 years ago my self esteem was really low. I was in the middle of complete burnout in a very toxic workplace and my mental health had taken a sharp and terrifying decline. I had a wedding to go to and tried on a low cut dress. When I looked in the mirror I hated what I saw. I thought the dress made my boobs look tiny, I felt completely unconfident and couldn't imagine ever wearing it.

A year later when I had overcome burnout and transformed my mental health I had another wedding to go to. I got out THE SAME dress and put it on. What I saw was something completely different. Instead of hating what I saw, I liked it. I saw a dress that flattered by body, thought my boobs looked great and felt really confident.

My size and body shape hadn't changed....my mind had! I had been working so much on my mental health that my self esteem and self love had grown - I now viewed my body in a very different way.

I've now had two babies and my body has gone through SO many changes but I love it now more than ever. I appreciate my body for all that it does for me and make a conscious effort to speak kindly to it and myself.

I also now have the BIG responsibility to actively practice self love in front of my children because kids copy behaviour. It's no good me telling my children to love themselves but then speaking negatively about my body in front of them. They won't learn to love themselves that way - in fact the opposite will be true.

My children know that mummy loves her body and that they should love theirs - that is what body positivity is. Loving your body for all that it is and all that it does. Honouring that some days may be difficult and making a conscious effort every day to speak kindly to yourself - especially when little eyes are watching your every move.

Watch this video to see how tapping can help you honour your emotions and start to reframe the way you view your body.

RELEASING STRESS

THE POWER OF YOUR BODY

"You need to listen to your body because your body is listening to you" 
Phil McGraw

Your body is an incredible source of wisdom and can tell you a lot but you need to listen to it. It’s often your body that will know before you do if you’re stressed and burning out. It could be an achey back, twitching eyes, bad skin, irritable gut, bloating, chest pains - these are all physical symptoms of stress.

You have a nerve called the vagus nerve that connects directly from your brain stem through your chest, down to your abdomen and carries sensory information from the internal organs back to the brain - your body and mind are completely interconnected.

Anytime you feel stressed your amygdala has been triggered and your body begins to go into the fight and flight response. In short periods this is ok but if you're constantly stressed this can cause havoc on your nervous system and body.

We often go straight to the physical problem to fix stress but it begins in the mind - calm your mind and your physical wellbeing will improve.

*if you're worried that something isn't stress related always check with your doctor.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

When you feel stressed or anxious your body is quick to respond so it’s important to know what physical sensations you experience and how stress manifests for you. When you start to listen carefully to your body you understand that it's telling you (often before you realise) that you're stressed and need slow down. Here are a few ways in which stress can physically manifest:

• Sweating - palms, face, back (any area of the body)

• Nausea - feeling sick or actually being sick

• Headaches - varying areas and pain intensity, migraines

• Breathing & Chest - breath begins to shorten, which raises your heart beat, tension or tightness in chest

• Gut - tense feeling in stomach or just above, going to the loo more or less than usual, IBS, bloating, butterflies, digestive problems

• Numbness - in areas of the body that usually have more sensation 

• Appetite - hunger or loss of appetite

• Twitchy eye - excessive blinking or sporadic twitch

• Muscle aches - achy limbs, tension in back & shoulders, tight throat

• Skin - bad skin (spots), breakout, irritation or blushing

• Monthly Cycle - for women your periods can stop

HAPPY HEADS EXERCISE

Take a minute now to tune into your body and list out what reactions you have when you feel stressed or anxious...

MEDITATION - BODY SCAN

Below a guided body scan meditation. This is a really effective way to check-in daily with how your body is feeling and process any stress that you might be experiencing. Try not to judge or change whatever comes up, simply notice with a gentle curiosity.

10 MINUTE TAPPING TO REDUCE ANXIETY

Anxiety is completely normal if we didn't have it we would all be like lemmings walking into the road. Normalising anxiety and saying how you feel out loud is a powerful way to quickly change the way you feel.

Watch this video to see how tapping can help you reduce your anxiety in under 10 minutes.

If you enjoy it feel free to donate here: https://ko-fi.com/happyheads

If you would like some one to one sessions to nurture your anxiety please get in touch kim@happyheads.me I would love to hear from you xx