by Golda Poretsky, H.H.C.
www.bodylovewellness.com

Listen to the podcast of this post here:

For much of my adult life, I hid aspects of myself away.  To some people, I was an analytical lawyer, while others knew me only as a health counselor, or a tarot reader, or a improv comedy performer.  I would keep all of these aspects separate, sometimes for self preservation, and sometimes just to make things easy.

Recently, I was interviewed by the Huffington Post’s Nancy Ruhling as part of her Astoria Character’s series.  In the article, I’m pictured with tarot cards in my hands, talking about every part of my career.  When I read the piece, my first reaction was not excitement but fear.  I thought that I might lose health counseling clients who wouldn’t like that I was a lawyer, legal clients who wouldn’t like that I was a tarot reader, and so on and so on.

I took a moment to really connect with the fear, and I soon realized that it was just an old fear of rejection, an old fear of being really seen.   And it was a fear that was wrapped up in old realities that don’t really apply to me anymore.  I realized that I want to be seen and known for all of who I am, and that the world and the economy has changed enough that more and more people are accustomed to multi-career professionals.  I have many friends and clients who have more than one career, and I have lots of clients who have hired me for more than one of my talents.    Bringing all of these parts of me together even led to an epiphany about the work I love doing as a lawyer.

So why am I sharing all of this with you?  Because I want you to know that you don’t have to hide who you are as much as you think you need to.   And I believe that the more you and I can stop hiding, the more we can release guilt and shame, and the more we can feel great about who we are.

When you tell the world who you are, by sharing more of yourself with the people around you, you affirm to yourself and to others that you accept who you are.  You affirm to yourself and others that you’re proud of who you are.  You allow your talents to shine.  You allow yourself to share more of your gifts with the world.  You get to receive acceptance and praise for all that you are.  And you release things like guilt, shame, and any perfectionist tendency you might have to create an “acceptable” facade.

And while we’re on the subject of hiding, a great way to release shame about your body is to stop hiding the parts of it that you feel are too fat or not attractive.  For tips on how to do that so that you feel really great, check out this post from the summer.

Just so we’re clear, I’m not saying that you should immediately send an invitation to the CEO of your company inviting him or her to your burlesque show, but it might be okay to send the invitation to your buddy from your writing class.  I think you get the idea.

So this week, think about a way that you could share more of yourself with the world.   For example, think of 3 things you might want to try and pick the easiest one this week.  Just to start you off, you could:

1) Send an email to some friends letting them know about a new class or event you’re taking part in.
2) Wear something you wouldn’t typically wear, like patterned tights or a color you don’t usually try.
3) Tell a close friend about a dream or desire that you have that you haven’t shared yet with anyone.

The purpose of this exercise is not to knock down your barriers all at once.  But if you can take these small leaps out of your comfort zone and share more of who you are more of the time, you will notice a new sense of a freedom and a new ability to stand for who you are.

As always, let me know how it goes in the comments section!
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Golda Poretsky, H.H.C. is a certified holistic health counselor who specializes in transforming your relationship with food and your body. Go to http://www.bodylovewellness.com/stay-in-touch/ to sign up for her newsletter and get your free download — Golda’s Top Ten Tips For Divine Dining.

If you’re in the NYC area, do not miss Golda’s March classes.  Click here to learn more or to register.

Looking for more support with intuitive eating and getting off diets? Click here to sign up for your FREE Body Love Wellness Consultation.

by Golda Poretsky, H.H.C.
www.bodylovewellness.com

Listen to the podcast of this post here:

Most of us want to change something about ourselves.  We want to eat more healthfully, get more exercise, procrastinate less, make love more, feel less stressed, feel more confident, etc., etc., etc.  Really, I could go on and on!

Of course, some of these issues are easier to change than others.  You might find a few forms of exercise that you really love, find ways to work it into your schedule, have it become a routine and voila! your “exercise issues” are solved.

But there will always be those issues that are harder to change.  And some may never change at all.  But the worst thing you can do is hate yourself for it.

Why is hating yourself or your ailments or issues so destructive?  Because hate prevents change.  Hate prevents healing.

Somewhere along the line, most of us learned that things were wrong with us, and, as a result, (more…)

by Golda Poretsky, H.H.C.
www.bodylovewellness.com

Listen to the podcast of this post here:

This morning, I was feeling blah.  I was feeling eh.  I worked steadily from home all morning, finally showering and getting dressed in the late afternoon so that I could run a few errands before meeting a friend for tea.

I had thrown on boring, easy clothes — leggings and a sweater, not much makeup.  I had dressed like my mood, a little boring and dreary and gray.

I didn’t have to leave yet, so I decided to do this thing that I had learned from one of my mentors, Mama Gena.  It’s a skill that she teaches on the first day at her school, and most of her students consider it to be one of their most important, life changing tools.  Once I did it, it completely changed the tone of my day.

It’s called bragging, but it’s not your typical bragging.

With this type of bragging, you take responsibility for all of the amazing things that you do all the time.  It’s about acknowledging your power in the life you’ve created.  And the more you recognize this power, the more it grows and the more you get turned on to it.

Just like with typical bragging, a good brag is often all about (more…)

Just recently, I found myself experiencing something that is rare for me these days, but used to be part of my every day experience — body hatred. I felt like I was emotionally picking on myself all day. My hair was never right, my clothes were never right, my face looked puffy, and I felt more out of shape than usual. No matter what I did I couldn’t seem to get back to the much happier place that I had come to know as normal.

Luckily, I was able to move through this experience by using two methods — one that I have used for years and one that is new to me, but both that I highly recommend.

This first method, free writing, is one that I love to use with Body Love Wellness clients. It’s a great way to detox your brain of negative thoughts or to connect with your internal truth and wisdom. Sometimes I ask clients to free write on a particular topic that comes up in our sessions, such as “good and bad food” or “being perfect” or “being thin.” Very often, clients get in touch with their beliefs through this process, and they’re then able to work with them or change them.

In my case, after a week or so of living with this uncomfortable (and yet familiar) feeling of body hatred, I decided to spend some time free writing on the topic of beauty. After a few pages, I wrote “since you can’t see it in yourself right now, start looking for beauty everywhere.”

Something about that advice resonated with me. This second method of seeing the beauty everywhere started to move me out of my feelings of ugliness. I started noticing beauty everywhere — in the stark early winter trees, in the crinkly fine skin of the elderly lady who sat next to me on the subway, in the way an older sister held her younger sister’s little backpack. I started to see beauty again hundreds of times over that day, and the next morning I felt like myself again.

It was incredibly simple, and, well, beautiful.

So this week, I would love for you to try either of these tips.

1) Take some time to free write, either without a topic or on a topic that’s troubling you. Let your mind go where it wants. Don’t worry about editing or puncuation. Just write!
2) Make it a point to see the beauty in your surroundings as you go about your day. Try this for one day (or even one minute) and notice any changes.

As always, please comment below!

Attention New Yorkers! Join me at Maxi Craft and get your shop on! Re/Dress, the super fabulous plus sized vintage clothing store , is hosting a night of gorgeous handmade products by local designers. Come chat with me about Body Love and score some great holiday gifts!

DATE: Wednesday, December 9, 2009

TIME: 7:00-9:00PM

LOCATION: Re/Dress NYC 109 Boerum Place Brooklyn, NY
And as always, let’s stay connected. Please stop by my Facebook group and become a member of the Body Love Wellness Group! You can also follow me on Twitter.

Be sure to check out our new podcast!  Body Love Wellness Podcast — Find The Beauty