Hi, hello. This is Mary, better known as Mary's Cup of Tea on the Interwebs. I'm an author,

speaker, retreat host. I have a podcast also called Mary's Cup of Tea. And basically, my platform is all

about self-love. What is something someone can do when they're having a bad body image day?

I have been there so many times. My entire teens, my early 20s were really focused on recovery.

And one of the biggest things that helped me is this idea, this mantra that I want to brain tattoo on your head. Your body is not an

image. It's an experience. When we're having a bad body image day, we tend to fixate on how we

look instead of how we feel. So this is called self-objectification when we're

seeing ourselves as an image, something for someone else to consume, as opposed to feeling

ourselves from the inside out. Like how does your body feel as the experience? It's a vessel that

allows you to experience life. So instead of saying, why does my body look like this? I'm so

bloated, big, you know, insert all the slurs, the stigma, the fat phobia that we use as hate speech toward ourselves,

ask yourself, how does my body feel? What is it need right now? Maybe it's water or movement or

rest or a hug or to step away from the mirror, step away from looking at yourself. Even if your thoughts are swirling and

spiraling, you can still take some self-compassionate, loving action. Everybody has bad body

image days. They're a part of being human, especially if you identify as a woman in this world, that constantly tells us that our entire worth is in our appearance. And the second we don't conform to that in some small way or feel like we can't live up to that in whatever way, it can be debilitating, but you have the power to reclaim your body

as something you live in, something you feel, something you experience, not something you perform

or present or perfect. What is one physical somatic way? Somebody who does not like their body can start to get in touch with their body and accept it or maybe even love it.

The answer to this is similar to the first part where I talked about how your body is not an image.

It's an experience. And one way that I physically practice this is by doing this technique one of my mentors

taught me. It's called heart math. So it's a heart-centered meditation. And all it is,

it is so simple. That's why I love doing it and sharing it with people because you can literally

do it right now. In fact, let's do it together.

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