Does anyone else feel like January was a year long?

We all need a collective slow, deep inhale and exhale.

As we dive into February, we have Valentine’s Day and Heart Health Month.

How do you feel about your body?

What's the first thought that comes to mind?

Is it kind or critical?

I’ve noticed on Instagram that so many women are trying to “fix” themselves physically - either their looks or the constant need to chase symptoms.

I wonder if this comes out of a lifetime of being told that our bodies always need intervention or they’re broken.

We’re told that it’s normal not to feel well.

Suffering is written into the script of womanhood.

Periods are supposed to be painful.

Pregnancy is treated as a medical emergency or a disease.

Childbirth requires a lot of intervention and is awful.

Menopause is the last act of your body turning against you.

Yet these are part of our biological make up.

We’re designed and built to go through them.

They may not always be pleasant, but your body is unbelievably resilient and capable.

I remember reassuring a pregnant Pilates client that her body was perfectly designed to give birth.

She paused for a moment.

No one had given her that empowering thought; yes, my body is fully capable of this.

Rather than celebrating the absolutely amazing things women’s bodies are capable of, we seem to view them as awful and something we must either fix or endure.

We’re also told not to age.

Wrinkles should be erased.

Have skin that looks like glass.

Filters, fillers, and Photoshop have women chasing an aesthetic that isn’t even real.

If I’m being honest, I’m really turned off by the menopause space on Instagram.

It’s full of alarmist doctors and influencers pushing a narrative that if you don’t take HRT, you’re going to have a heart attack and live with dementia.

It’s not a one size fits all prescription.

I follow one woman in particular who talks about the dozen doctors she’s been to to try and  “optimize” her hormones.

She’s always taking them up and then adjusting them down.

The constant “fixing”.

What gets drowned out in the conversation is the upside of menopause and midlife.

Is it crazy that I’m happy to be this age?

Over the years, my Pilates clients, who are older than me, have quietly told me that life gets better for women as they age.

I believe them.  I witness it in their lives.

Yes, my body has changed, but that doesn’t keep me from going to the gym and lifting heavy weights.

All the ups and downs of the first half of my life helped me to have perspective.

My best friend and I have a running joke that the lack of estrogen makes it a whole lot easier to say no to people with zero guilt.

I read comments on Instagram posts, and so many women are complaining that it’s essentially time to seal up the windows and draw the drapes.

Life as they know it is over because being a middle aged women is the end of the line.

It seems that in our culture today, self-love is hard to come by when the narrative around us constantly tells us our bodies don’t measure up - and it’s normal.

Several years ago, I did a Self Love series and asked Katherine Brooks to do an Instagram Live with me to discuss how we can cultivate love and gratitude for our bodies and beauty as women.

I’m linking her journal prompts here.  They're so good.

You can watch the interview here.

Our thoughts become our beliefs, which become our reality.

Choosing to love yourself and be at peace with your body seems radical in today’s world.

As women, we’re often tasked with caregiving and pouring love onto others.

I hope you’ll show yourself some of that same love, kindness, and compassion.

Your body is a miracle.

I hope you’ll befriend it and show it gratitude.