Do you love your belly?

How much do you love your belly?

 I recently read an article in the magazine Law of Attraction called Love Your Belly.  It jumped out at me because for so many years I have been angry and annoyed with my belly and  hear client after client complain about that "trouble" area. It's as if  the stomach is a completely separate entity that doesn't coexist with the rest of  the body?  I am not sure why we, as a society, are so painfully obsessed with perfect midsections.  I feel like it is ingrained in our psyche and I want to change that. I wrote a post last May (here) about obsessing over having six pack abs and have come a long way with my own belly journey.

Having kids has changed my perspective on a lot of things.  One of them being body image.  I refuse to look in the mirror and complain about any body part with my 8 year old daughter standing there next to me.  Instead, I am trying to focus on how thankful I am to have held two babies in that belly for nine months and get to enjoy those gifts everyday:) 

Sadly, our bellies can make or break how we feel about our self image and can cause many negative emotions when they become the focal point of our fitness routine.  It is time to change that mindset and treat our bellies the way they deserve to be treated, with love. Research, has shown that our bellies are like a second brain that help control our emotions, mental clarity, and physical health.  We talk all the time about healing your gut through good nutrition and exercise, but it actually takes more than that! Our abdominal area(or CORE) helps ups stand up straight, provides protection, and nourishes our body by processing the nutrients we put in it.  It has so many important tasks, yet it gets abused the most:(

I truly believe that our bodies are all made differently and take on their own unique shapes during our quest for health. This mindset has helped me tremendously.  Instead of looking in the mirror and picking my belly a part, I give it a pat, say something positive, and move on.  To further strengthen my mindset, my friend Unni and I talked about taking belly dancing.  This idea scares me, but also excites me.   I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but if you are interested in joining us, let me know.   I can promise you that it will involve a lot of fun and laughter.  We laugh uncontrollably just talking about it!   Do something everyday to show your belly some love and I promise it will return that love!