Making Friends With Your Body

Being born to a tiny mother really helped me with my body image. I was bigger than my mother when I was 11! My first bra was bigger than hers is now! I realised that there was nothing to do but accept the body I had. I was constantly compared to my mum, with people commenting about how tiny she was (and quietly judging that I was not!). Someone once told me that dogs don’t compare themselves to other dogs. Corgis don’t go around wishing they were greyhounds; they just get on with being the best corgis that they can be. My mum was a chihuahua; I was a Labrador. There was nothing that could be done.

This is what led me into my career as a stylist. I wanted to show people that they could look great. Regardless of size or weight or height, I believe that everyone can look amazing. There are tricks for lengthening short bodies and slimming down thicker areas, but most people who look amazing look that way because they feel amazing. They like themselves and have packaged themselves accordingly. They see clothing as a celebration and expression of themselves, not as a tarpaulin required to cover themselves up! Making friends with your body gives you a companion, a partner in life.

Imagine having a friend who was there for you 24 hours a day, who took you everywhere, who lifted everything for you, who sucked in air and filtered it for you, who transported oxygen around your blood cells, who grew new fingernails, who replaced your skin cells and who healed your cuts and bruises. What a wonderful friend that would be! Wouldn’t you want to honour that friend by providing them with the most gorgeous and comfortable space for them to sleep in, the most nourishing food, the purest water and fabric they love to wrap themselves in? Making friends with your body can lead to one of the most amazing relationships of your life. You are partners, till death do you part!

I love this poem by Hollie Holden:

Today I asked my body what she needed,
Which is a big deal
Considering my journey of
Not Really Asking That Much.

I thought she might need more water.
Or protein.
Or greens.
Or yoga.
Or supplements.
Or movement. 

But as I stood in the shower
Reflecting on her stretch marks,
Her roundness where I would like flatness,
Her softness where I would like firmness,
All those conditioned wishes
That form a bundle of
Never-Quite-Right-Ness,
She whispered very gently:

Could you just love me like this? 

~ Hollie Holden, June 2016