Gen and I (a goals club member, that’s beautiful Gen in the above photo) attended a breakfast this morning to engage with Taryn Brumfit! @bodyimagemovement
Wow I am going to write up and share the main points from the breakfast – although the emotion and energy from Taryn was pretty amazing. Even better she is born and lives in Adelaide! Her intention for the breakfast was that we walked out the doors loving our body more than we did when we walked in and that we took ACTION after today.
She had inspired me, when I got home after work I took action and the first thing I did was watch her documentary “Embrace”!!! (It is on Foxtel to go and also on Netflix)
Taryn shared her story……
We don’t come into the world hating our body… we learn to do this.
She adored mother hood but not her body after giving birth to 3 beautiful children. She shared lots of stories which I think you may need to watch the movie for….
She nearly had cosmetic surgery changing her mind after watching her daughter playing and thinking what am I teaching her about her body!
For 15 weeks she trained for a body building competition and had the perfect bikini body. Although she didn’t feel inspirational like others said, it wasn’t sustainable for her body type and she wasn’t happier like she thought she would be!
“My body is not an ornament, it is the vehicle to my dreams”
Taryn gave us lots of fact and figures and examples of advertising that is currently happening in the world….
Cosmopolitan covers – wow all the covers have the same type of women on the front. There is no room for diversity!
Examples of advertising with no morals…
Seeing through the ages how women are represented and if you don’t fit this representation how does this make you feel?
1st time in history Australia spend $1 billion on non-invasive cosmetic procedures. (cosmetic physicians college of Australia 2016)
Not only happening with women. Men’s body dissatisfactions has tripled from 15% to 45% of all western men (eating disorders Australia)
The good news is we have a choice and can change the cycle of our mums or friends hating our bodies and passing that on to others.
What are you options, what will you embrace about your body?
Option A
You hate your body and constantly spend time worrying about it
Option B
Unconditionally love and respect your body… and do bombs in the pool!!!
As Nigel Marsh (Earth Hour) said, don’t wait for the big 4 – Death, divorce, redundancy or Disease, make the choice now!
Tap into Perspective & Gratitude
Spend energy on things that do matter! Yep Taryn shared a few things that are happening around us in the world. It did put things in perspective and I will admit I was close to shedding a tear.
A question she asked us was…
“What is it that you will be thinking about when you take your final breath”?
She shared her TOP 10 bits of advice for us:
Stop judging – you don’t know what is going on with a person by looking at them from the outside. You can’t judge someone’s health by what they look like.
Move for pleasure, not punishment – she has completed a marathon and loved it!
Have a laugh
Don’t be brainwashed. Ageing is fabulous – it is natural and denied by so many.
Engage in sparkle activities – do activities that give you a thrill. I love when she mentioned go to a WEA course I love that suggestion and do it often.
No more comments on weight loss or weight gain – make that irrelevant, the connection is with you not your weight
Don’t listen to the nasty pants – weed them out!
Change and accept – an excellent suggestion was to source an A4 piece of paper, put a line down the middle. Write “change” one side of the paper and “accept” on the other side of the paper. Then fill out what you would like to change about your body and what you accept!
Break the rules – Enjoy yourself 🙂
Join the Body Image Movement. ” one women can make a difference but together we can change the world“
Taryn shared that her growth and what has happened to her is a direct result of not hating her body and finding her voice. She asks that if you see things that are not right, in an effective way communicate it. Your impact doesn’t have to big and bold it could be just one person, a discussion you have with your daughter that makes a big difference.
Let me leave you with a quote she shared.
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