Aleks this is such a lovely piece on turning towards your postpartum body with kindness (even if full acceptance isn’t possible). For me, it was my body’s internal transformation that was most challenging (I have a genetic disorder with heart disease that was massively accelerated by pregnancy). So this need for kindness towards my body takes on another dimension. Love your invitation to stop and look and honour what your body has done for you and your babies ❤️
This is such a beautiful piece of writing... I’m actually lost for words - with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes 🥺 I think I have some work to do here..
This was such a kind & emotion provoking piece. There are so many layers to unpacking the changes our body go through during motherhood. I actually "fell out" with my body more because I felt it let me down. I had always seen myself as having a strong body but when natural births didn't happen twice for me I felt my body hadn't done what it needed! I came to peace with that and now am working on loving my body for how she looks now. Thank you.
Thank you for writing about such a tender topic! This piece resonates so deeply with me as I’m almost 5 months postpartum with my second. And I’m grateful to say that I’m having a much different relationship with my body this go around.
I had a pretty traumatic birth experience with my first which resulted in Bell’s Palsy and an unexpected c-section. I never felt more disconnected to my body. She felt like a stranger. It took a few years for me to find acceptance. And it was Clarissa Pinkola Este’s book, The Joyous Body, that opened up a path to gratitude, love, nurture and kindness towards my body!
I love the exercise you included and I can’t wait to practice it!
This was beautiful! After giving birth to both of my daughters I actually had more appreciation for my body, not less. The fact that my daughters were nurtured inside my body and then grew healthy and strong because of my breast milk was an enormous source of pride. It was only more recently as I gained extra weight that I looked at my body with disgust. Yes, disgust. I was trying on a new bikini and wanted to cry. I said something like, “argh, look at this belly” out loud. My 13 year old daughter was standing beside me and told me off: “your body created me. I was once THERE, in that belly. You have the most beautiful body.” It was a serious reality check. I stopped with the abuse in that instant. Today, at 47 I am much kinder to my body. I am grateful for its strength and everything that it can do. Hope this helps..
Aleks this is such a lovely piece on turning towards your postpartum body with kindness (even if full acceptance isn’t possible). For me, it was my body’s internal transformation that was most challenging (I have a genetic disorder with heart disease that was massively accelerated by pregnancy). So this need for kindness towards my body takes on another dimension. Love your invitation to stop and look and honour what your body has done for you and your babies ❤️
This is such a beautiful piece of writing... I’m actually lost for words - with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes 🥺 I think I have some work to do here..
This was such a kind & emotion provoking piece. There are so many layers to unpacking the changes our body go through during motherhood. I actually "fell out" with my body more because I felt it let me down. I had always seen myself as having a strong body but when natural births didn't happen twice for me I felt my body hadn't done what it needed! I came to peace with that and now am working on loving my body for how she looks now. Thank you.
I’ve been thinking and writing about this a lot lately! It was lovely to read your thoughts about it 🩵💌 Sending love!
Such a beautiful reflection ❤️ thank you for including my poem! I’m so glad that it reached you at the right moment in your motherhood journey.
Thank you for writing about such a tender topic! This piece resonates so deeply with me as I’m almost 5 months postpartum with my second. And I’m grateful to say that I’m having a much different relationship with my body this go around.
I had a pretty traumatic birth experience with my first which resulted in Bell’s Palsy and an unexpected c-section. I never felt more disconnected to my body. She felt like a stranger. It took a few years for me to find acceptance. And it was Clarissa Pinkola Este’s book, The Joyous Body, that opened up a path to gratitude, love, nurture and kindness towards my body!
I love the exercise you included and I can’t wait to practice it!
This was beautiful! After giving birth to both of my daughters I actually had more appreciation for my body, not less. The fact that my daughters were nurtured inside my body and then grew healthy and strong because of my breast milk was an enormous source of pride. It was only more recently as I gained extra weight that I looked at my body with disgust. Yes, disgust. I was trying on a new bikini and wanted to cry. I said something like, “argh, look at this belly” out loud. My 13 year old daughter was standing beside me and told me off: “your body created me. I was once THERE, in that belly. You have the most beautiful body.” It was a serious reality check. I stopped with the abuse in that instant. Today, at 47 I am much kinder to my body. I am grateful for its strength and everything that it can do. Hope this helps..