{via etsy by Anita Waters}

Today is my 30th birthday! Every year, for my b-day, I’ve been republishing a version of the below post. It’s become sort of a tradition around here. In it, I share what I’ve learned about body image and life in my years on this earth thus far. Oh, why 32? Two lessons for good luck!

1. Forget about being clever or cool. Just strive to be you. In all your amazing & unique glory. (Pretending has never worked for me. Trust me, I’ve tried. But I just end up feeling and looking really awkward. And then there’s the matter of life being too short.)

2. Eat what your heart, mind and body desire. As my friend and fave blogger, Anna Guest-Jelley says, use “the feel good rule.” Figure out what nourishes and energizes you.

{via etsy by Raceytay}

A positive body image goes beyond liking your looks. It encompasses taking good care of yourself and leading a fulfilling life. In this new series, I’m sharing some of my favorite posts from my some of my favorite bloggers on just that. Hope you find these links inspiring, too!

One of the best ways to boost our body image is to sharpen our senses and enjoy the world. Susannah Conway is hosting her annual August Break, which involves taking just one (or more) pictures a day and posting it on your blog. (I signed up and will be posting my photos on my personal blog.)

How to deal with negative comments about your body.

Figuring out your personal style can help to boost your body image. That might seem surprising. But it’s true!

Sally McGraw, who authors the amazing blog “Already Pretty,” talks about this very topic in her excellent book Already Pretty: Learning to Love Your Body By Learning to Dress It Well. (It’s filled with great ideas, tips and insights!)

As Sally writes in her book, “It wasn’t until I began exploring personal style — dressing in fun, flattering, form-fitting clothes — that an unexplored universe slowly revealed itself…When I started to dress in a way that made me look and feel amazing, I finally stopped actively, continually, exhaustingly hating my body.”

{Anna Guest-Jelley leading a yoga class}

A few weeks ago I was on a call with Anna Guest-Jelley, who authors the beautiful blog Curvy Yoga and created the must-read e-book Permission to Curve: Inspiring Poses for Curvy Yogis and Their Teachers.

She talked all about embracing and honoring our bodies and our health. Today, I wanted to share her wise words.

The Importance of Softening, Not Struggling

According to Anna, permission is at the root of embracing our bodies, movement and health at every size. But many of us have a tough time giving ourselves permission. Many of us have a tough time trusting ourselves when it comes to our health and what we eat.

Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly — and hopefully kick-starts the week on a positive note!

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky at gmail dot com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. I’d love to hear from you!

{via etsy by jan avellana}

“It is so easy to get bogged down by our internal patterns of negative thinking. Those circuitries are so engrained. But shifting the focus to gratitude and connection helps remind me that, ‘Hey, the mirror really has no hold over the reality of my contentment.’”

These are the wise words that Julia, who blogs at Feed Me Daily, emailed me recently. She reminded me of the importance of staying connected with our loved ones, with the world. Because when we focus on thinness, on restricting our calories, on nitpicking at our bodies (and others), we forget.

{via etsy by Carl Christensen}

A positive body image goes beyond liking your looks. It encompasses taking good care of yourself and leading a fulfilling life. Today, I’d like to share some of my favorite posts on just that. Hope you find these links inspiring, too!

Do you find that your inner critic gets louder even when things are going great? Here’s how to own your success.

The 7 benefits of self-love.

From self-hate to self-acceptance:

“If we are consumed by our bodies, then we are taking valuable time away from the work we are meant to be doing and the gifts we are meant to be giving to this world, from our mission.  If we are in the mirror, assessing, obsessing, critiquing, despairing, we are not doing the work of our lives.”

 {The Advanced Style book}

Monday, July 30th, I’m turning the big 3-0. And even though in my mind I’m only 24 (seems like a good number), I have to say that I’d never, ever want to go back to my early 20s.

During those years my self-worth was shaky (at best). I equated my worthiness as a person, as a human being, with my weight, my size, my shape, my looks.

I yearned to be everyone but myself.

For those of us who have a habit of stuffing down our emotions, identifying our feelings can be tough. We might be afraid that if we open the door, we’ll find a raging river and wild waves that’ll swallow us whole.

But acknowledging our emotions (and what triggers them) isn’t inherently a turbulent process. It’s just how many of us have viewed the process for a long time.

Maybe our families dismissed our emotions. Maybe they just didn’t talk about them. Or maybe we never learned a healthy way to express our emotions.

But the good thing about views is that we can revise them.

Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly — and hopefully kick-starts the week on a positive note!

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky at gmail dot com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. I’d love to hear from you!

{via etsy by Machel Spence}

Last week I interviewed Anna Guest-Jelley of Curvy Yoga about practicing yoga, being kinder to ourselves and her must-read e-book Permission to Curve: Inspiring Poses for Curvy Yogis and Their Teachers. (Here’s parts 1, 2 and 3.)

Inspired by Anna’s book, Mara Glatzel of Medicinal Marzipan wrote a poignant post about giving ourselves permission. Here’s an excerpt:

{You can download the Matifesto here; it’s so empowering!}

When I first read these words in Anna Guest-Jelley’s ”Matifesto above, “It is possible to love your body, even on days when you don’t like it,” I was taken aback.

There’s no way, I thought. How is that possible? I have to like my body in order to love it…right?

But then I considered how we love others — our parents, siblings, friends, kids — unconditionally. No prerequisites. No musts or shoulds. We might disagree with their actions, and honestly not like them very much sometimes. But we still love them.

Why can’t we do the same for our bodies? For the very vehicles that carry us?

Below, in part three of our interview, Anna Guest-Jelley explores the idea of loving our bodies even on the days we don’t like them.