What is Body Neutrality?
At Blue Room, body neutrality means approaching your body with respect and coming as you are. No toxic positivity here - some days you might not like your body and that’s ok. As a person who is dealing with body image issues, I understand what it’s like to not recognize yourself and the frustrations that come along with it. I’ve learned that it’s not how you look or the number on the scale that’s important, but how you feel.
Body neutrality encourages individuals to detach their self-worth from their physical appearance. It recognizes that our bodies are not just pretty things to look at but incredible vessels capable of thousands of functions. Unlike body positivity, which encourages individuals to love and celebrate their bodies (and can easily turn into toxic positivity), body neutrality takes a different approach by urging people to shift their focus away from appearance and towards appreciating their bodies for what they can do.
At Blue Room, we focus on how you feel before, during and after a workout. When someone starts training with me, while we will discuss goals and a goal of yours may be something like weight loss, the focus won’t be on weigh-ins or getting out a measuring tape to see if you’ve lost inches on your waist. We’ll be finding what feels right to you, challenging you in new ways and learning to appreciate whatever your body is allowing you to do on any given day. As you start to listen to what your body needs and shift your focus from what you think your body should look like, working out can turn into something that brings you joy based on how you feel instead of a must to meet a societal beauty standard.
Here are some tips that helped me get started with body neutrality and that I practice on a daily basis:
1. Mindful Movement: Engage in physical activities that bring joy and focus on the positive sensations of movement rather than the desire to change your body.
2. Self-Compassion: Practice self-compassion by treating yourself with kindness and understanding. Acknowledge that everyone has imperfections and that it's okay not to meet societal ideals. When having any inner dialogue with yourself, ask, “would I say this to friend?”.
3. Gratitude for Functionality: Cultivate gratitude for your body's abilities. Whether it's the strength to carry groceries or the flexibility to do a split, recognizing and celebrating these abilities can foster a sense of appreciation.
4. Curate Your Media Intake: Be mindful of the media you consume. Unfollow accounts that perpetuate unrealistic beauty standards and surround yourself with content that promotes diversity and authenticity.
5. Find an anti-diet nutritionist: Get professional help. I couldn’t have done this on my own. I had no idea where to start and all of my previous knowledge was based on restrictive eating putting me on the edge of eating disorders. I’ve been working with Nourishment Works for over a year and my nutritionist is another part of my support circle just like my therapist and my family.
Do elite athletes benefit from body neutrality? Absolutely! Any person, regardless of their ability, can benefit from body neutrality. As a former elite athlete and a coach of young elite athletes, I know firsthand how important separating how you look from how you feel can be. As I got older, and my body started to change more dramatically I went through a period of shame and confusion. Cue these inner comments: I have always been thin, why am I gaining weight? This is my own fault, I need to stop eating so many carbs/sugar/processed foods. I guess I’ll never be healthy again. My self worth was so tied up in my appearance that I found myself always saying I was ugly, fat, and troll-like. I’ve seen this in my younger athletes as well. Already tied up in how they look and perform than how they feel doing the sport they “love”.
One thing I can guarantee is that when you work with me, you work with someone who doesn’t judge your worth or value by the size or shape of your body.
