body celebration - autumn edition
The leaves are changing, the puffy jackets are out and my desire for a hot coffee in my hands has increased tenfold. Now I’ll be honest, I am a summer person. I love the feeling of warmth that I get from the sun. I love that the sun stays out until 9:00pm. I love that I don’t always have to bring my umbrella with me “just in case.” That said, I am actually really looking forward to embracing the cooler months.
Spring and Summer were big seasons of change for me personally. Going through a breakup, quitting my job, finding two more jobs and moving to the surf coast all within a matter of weeks was definitely more change than I could have possibly anticipated. I was speaking to a friend about all the change the other day and have come to the realisation that I have ‘change fatigue.’ As much as I have warmly welcomed all the new opportunities, adventures and people that have entered my life, I am starting to feel the need to be present and sit with all the change. I also want this Autumn and Winter to be different to the ones I have had in the past.
You see, in the past I wished the cooler months away. I counted down the days until September when the weather would warm up and the days would get longer. In doing so, I missed out on the beauty and joy that could have been cultivated from the cooler months.
I talk about body celebration on my instagram (@thisisyourbody_nutrition). Body celebration is about intentionally setting aside time to fully embrace your body as it is today. There are endless ways to do this (and they definitely don’t have to be ridiculously active or involve going outside…particularly when it is freezing).
Here are three ways that I am going to be present and celebrate my body this Autumn with all of that in mind:
1. long walks
I have never been a runner but I absolutely LOVE walking (not strolling). I have made it my mission since I moved to the coast to see the water every day. Getting outside and walking near the water does wonders for my mood, energy levels and my creativity. Long walks are best when they are accompanied by either a podcast or a person (or a dog if I had one…sometimes I imagine I’m walking a dog…is that weird?). They are even better when I have a hot cup of coffee (LB or Strong Oat Latte for anyone wondering or still reading).
2. kitchen dance party
Is there actually anything better than the smell of soup simmering on the stove? The only thing better than the smell of soup simmering is the dance party that preceded it while I was preparing it. Nineties dance music is totally where it is at for me. I have it on obnoxiously loud, I dance, I FaceTime my sister and just vibe out in the comfort of my kitchen.
3. read a book
Let me paint you a little picture. You’re inside. You can hear the pitter patter of rain outside. You’re in trackies and a hoodie. You have the fire on. There’s a blanket on your lap. A hot tea is sitting beside you. You have a great book in hand. Ah. Now that is the ultimate celebration of my body, just pure calm. Reading brings me so much joy. I go through phases with it though. There are times when I read every day and other’s when I realise it has been a couple of months that I have actually picked one up! I am in a reading phase at the moment (I am consuming anything written by Brené Brown). I always feel so recharged after putting aside time to read.
Setting aside time solely for joy and body celebration isn’t something that comes naturally to me. I literally have to write ‘self-care’ on my to-do list just to remind myself that it is a priority and not something I “should” do.
I know the things I listed might be boring for some but for me they bring me a sense of calm and that is the feeling I am hoping to cultivate in the coming months. I am sure after a few weeks of hibernating I’ll be much more keen to get out there and celebrate my body in more new and exciting ways but for now comfort is the vibe I am going for.
If you find yourself out and celebrating your body and you want to share it with our community, tag us in your post on Instagram so we can share it with everyone. You never know, you might just inspire someone else to take some time out of their day to celebrate the body they’re in!
