In college, I wrote a paper requiring me to research the Chinese practice of foot-binding which was prevalent through the 19^th century. I was horrified to see a society that would break the feet of their young women, a price they were willing to pay so that their women would be married into wealth and status.

Then I thought about the Western’s use of corsets and the practice of tight-lacing to obtain small 16 and 17 inch waists, a process that would often led to women fainting, immobility, and poor lung capacity, leading to persistent coughs.

I was relieved to be growing up in a society that requires neither corsets nor foot-binding, but I soon realized that our modern society still binds women, but in a more insidious way…through the weight-loss industry.

All cultures have their unobtainable and rare ideas of beauty.

Women are on the terrible hamster-wheel of weight loss, required to punish themselves for “bad behavior” by exercising beyond what feels good and starving themselves beyond what is necessary. Even Oprah feels like a failure when it comes to weight-loss! Billionaire Oprah!

I started dieting in high school—unsuccessfully I might add—and I worked out very consistently for years to maintain a thinner physique. But it’s only in the past few years that I have come to realize that body size doesn’t matter. What matters MOST is how we FEEL about our size. And how we FEEL inside of our bodies. Are we happy? Healthy? Energized? Enlivened? Inspired?

If we feel confident and comfortable in our skin, the world around us mirrors that same confidence in us.

Don’t believe me? Recently I was practicing teaching my pre-beginning yoga class via Zoom video conferencing. I recorded the class, then watched the playback.

I swear I actually saw my body language shift the moment I felt dissatisfied with my body. I saw the moment when my inner critic told me I looked ugly. I saw how it changed my posture and my attention. It was like a part of me left the party. A part of me stepped outside to cower in the fetal position. The damage our inner critic inflicts is VISIBLE. It physically changes us.

But it doesn’t have to.

I don’t want to make my life’s work about weight loss. I want it to be about body positive confidence and embracing the joys of life’s experiences including the bountiful food we have to eat and the boundless joy and energy available to us if we’re capable of seeing it.

The binds holding me back are chafing. They are preventing me from movement. And I am casting them off once and for all.

And you can too. To be boundless in your energy and joy for life. To unravel those thoughts created by the inner critic binding you and keeping you playing small. To dissolve any thoughts that your inner critic throws at you.

I Dare You to Join Me…

• Make a declaration of your own – post on this blog or on your Facebook page.
• Join the Boundless Body movement #boundlessbody
• Want support? Try a body positive group or coaching program like Boundless Body: Gain the Confidence to Celebrate Size you! at cathydean.com/boundless

What has been your body struggle? What old ideas about body and weight are no longer serving you?

I’d love to hear from you.

Cathy Dean is a certified Martha Beck coach and endorsed Mind Body coach who helps in-demand, entrepreneurial high-achieving women free themselves from stress and binding body thoughts so they can honor their bodies and reach for more abundance and adventure.

Cathy used to feel trapped by her body shame and size. As she has cast aside her binding body thoughts, she has been able to pursue her calling—to bring the body-positive movement to the forefront—with wild and boundless enthusiasm.

If you would like to learn more, check out Cathy’s program Boundless Body: Gain Confidence to Celebrate Size You! at www.cathydean.com/boundless. Registration is now open.

email: cathy@cathydean.com