I follow Instagram influencers who make it their daily mission to challenge society’s beauty standards. Someone in particular who stands out to me is blogger, Mik Zazon. Mik is dedicated to creating content in order to spread body positivity, and she actively encourages other women to give permission to show up as they are. She speaks loudly and with passion about normalizing normal bodies, and for that, she is a leader. She leads by example by unapologetically loving her body and sharing her experiences. While I cannot speak further to her experiences, her posts did fuel me to address my own battles.
While I cannot say I have yet fully mastered unconditionally loving my body, I have put work in towards consistently showing up for myself in small and meaningful ways.
What do I mean when I say that I show up for myself in small and meaningful ways?
- Progress and success is defined and executed differently by others.
- Accepting that change does not happen over night, and the conscious effort to change is still considered a step in the right direction.
- Giving myself permission to slow down and take a break.
Mik’s message about normalizing normal bodies has re-shaped how I think about myself, and she encourages me to accept the body that I have grown into. Similar to Mik’s experience, she also went from a competitive soccer player to not performing in the same capacity and intensity anymore, and I too, have watched my body form into something unrecognizable. My muscle tone and body weight has changed, and I am out of breath walking up a flight of stairs. These changes scared me, and I struggled to find a fitness or health plan that would bring me back to the body that I knew and loved. I had yet to accept and love my present self.
Normalizing normal bodies is a statement I live by because it teaches and reminds me that who I am today, tomorrow or years from now is a person who is more than just her body. I am a leader, a wife, a dog mom, a daughter, a friend, who is on a path to living a healthier lifestyle. A lifestyle intended to fit my needs, my capabilities, and to be deemed successful by my standards.
I love this ! I struggle with accepting my body as it is and I find myself criticising myself for it a lot . I like how you follow people who promote body acceptance because that is definitely one way to help us accept our bodies as well . I hear ya about changes in fitness levels and diets that don’t work . This blog post was really encouraging . Thanks a lot !
I am so glad you found this post encouraging! It has honestly been so uplifting to follow her motto, normalize normal bodies!