I remember the day a dear friend asked me to join her on a 6 mile run. I had never ran for distance. Up to this point I had only used time to measure how long I ran. The run went great! I was with my friend, so the run felt like fun and not punishment. Prior to this day running my only relationship with running was to control how my body looked. I was heavily into bodybuilding at the time, so running was a part of my cardio routine… but mostly used
as punishment.
The same friend later convinced me to enter The Philadelphia Marathon. This presented me with an opportunity to have a different relationship with how I
would view my body. The funny thing is, I wasn’t trying to do that. I had no idea that I was measuring my self-worth based on the aesthetic of my physique. Being unaware meant I felt no need to change.
During my preparation for running a long distance, I started to change how I viewed my body and myself. I used my energy towards changing my habits to support my goal. My lifting turned into a celebration of feeling strong and keeping my body healthy for the long miles ahead. I wasn’t so concerned if I could not lift “X” amount of weight. I also started to separate my self-worth from what my body looked like and focused on the tiny
victories in feeling healthy. My relationship with food also changed. Instead of being a
punishment or reward it was fuel and I wanted it to support my training. This was a big shift…
I do not have a degree in psychology but what I do understand is that focusing on the positive leaves me with energy to be curious and present. I might not always feel happy but at least I can be rational and honest with my outlook. You cannot stand up if you are too busy kicking yourself while on the ground.
I started to write this blog post about the “Amazing Changing Body”. In the post, I was sharing my struggles with body image/eating disorder/disordered eating. After my second paragraph, things started to take a dark turn in my brain. I decided to immediately stop and instead want to share the ode below.
"Dear Body,
I know you are healthy.
I know you are strong.
Forgive me for being mean and unkind. I love you.
I love that you carry me through my day. I love that I get to push you to lift, pull, and stretch.
I know you are capable of more... but for now I acknowledge that you are enough."
Bio: Dianna Scotece, CSCS is the founder of Muscle Inspires New Empowerment (M.I.N.E). She has been in the fitness industry for over 25 years, working in every discipline from group fitness to personal training to management. Dianna has been a life long competitor in cheerleading, swimming, bodybuilding, marathon running, and olympic weightlifting.
She uses the lessons learned from these various sports to connect with her body and to help others as well.
Commenti