Breaking the Mold, by Tara Osseck

I was crowned Miss Missouri on June 6, 2009, a goal I had worked for three years to achieve; on January 30, I will compete against 52 other contestants for the title of Miss America 2010. Although the Miss America Organization is the world's largest provider of scholarships for young women, let's face it - it's still a beauty pageant. As such, I have witnessed firsthand how easy it is to get caught up in one's looks and physical appearance, and the pressure to look perfect.

When I decided to compete for Miss Missouri, the first thing I had to do was to choose a platform - any issue I wanted to promote and advocate for. I didn't have to think twice. I wanted to promote awareness of eating disorders. My college roommate suffered from a severe case of anorexia for two years, and at the time, I didn't understand it any more than she did. But I knew she needed help, and I knew I had to get her the rehabilitation she needed to recover, so I educated myself on every facet of eating disorders possible. I began sharing this information with her friends and family, and soon we were able to work together to get her the help she needed. One thing was certain - the lack of education is often a common thread for both individuals afflicted with eating disorders and for those around them. So now as a Certified Health Education Specialist, and as Miss Missouri 2009, I have made it my mission to reach as many audiences as possible to educate them on eating disorders and the development of a healthy, realistic body image.

I know what you're thinking. Kind of ironic, coming from a girl who gets judged on modeling a swimsuit, right? It's a fair assumption, but an unfair stereotype that all pageant girls are size 0's and all about looks. I can't speak for every pageant contestant, but in the Miss America Organization, most of us do not aspire to be models. We come in all shapes and sizes. We eat healthy foods and exercise, but we do not restrict ourselves from "bad" foods. I have learned not to measure myself in numbers or to compare myself to Miss Texas or to the models I see in magazines. Learning and understanding your body is a constant, dynamic process. It's not going to happen overnight, but if you work at it, anyone can learn how to achieve their healthiest self, beginning with body image.

I am dedicating this year to taking this message across the state of Missouri and teaching others how to work toward their personal best. No two bodies are alike, in terms of bone structure, muscle growth, or genetic makeup. What we see in magazines and on television is often an inaccurate representation of reality - it's all airbrushed, padded, taped, and sculpted to perfection. The reality is that Miss America isn't perfect, and neither am I. But by not being afraid to share my imperfections, I have been able to slowly break the stereotypes. It is my hope that you can begin to break through your own labels and stereotypes by being comfortable in your own skin. I hope that you'll follow my posts here, as a guest blogger for McCallum Place, and continue learning about different components of body image, self-esteem, and eating disorders.

Body Appreciation by Jen Kamer

Since I’ll be leading a Body Image group in the next 30 minutes for McCallum Place patients, I thought it would also be a worthwhile blog. When was the last time you checked inside and did a body appreciation survey? In preparing for group today, I realized that it’s been awhile for me and I wonder if taking time to appreciate our bodies doesn’t happen in the same way we (as a busy, achieving culture) tend to also not tune into ourselves, our bodies, our breath.

If we were to push back against this need to go, be, and do and ask ourselves the following questions, what might we discover? How might we better attune to and help center our bodies and our lives? …

What is the nicest thing you’ve done for your body lately?

List at least 5 aspects/functions/abilities of your body that you appreciate.

Imagine that your body image was greatly improved. How would you go about experiencing more body-related pleasure in your life?

List 4 psychological barriers to experiencing these body-related pleasures.

Name 2 steps you can take today to allow yourself to appreciate your body more.

Finally, consider your 5 senses. How might you enhance your experience of each?


Happy Body Appreciating! Until our next blog…

How can yoga help in healing from an eating disorder?

by Mary Laffey Adams, RN, MSN, Holistic nurse, Kripalu yoga instructor

As a Kripalu yoga instructor at McCallum Place for the past seven years, I have seen those who participate in the yoga sessions during treatment reap many benefits. Patients leave at the end of our hour-long group saying things such as: “I feel so much more relaxed!” “I am calmer now.” or “My thoughts have settled down.” Such are the gifts of yoga, a physical, mental and spiritual practice, that one ancient sage guaranteed would “still the fluctuations of the mind.”

In our yoga sessions, we get to that quieter place in the body and mind by going through what I think of as the back door. I like to take everyone around that way because the eating disorder (ED), as patients often personify the eating disorder mind, is at the front door, keeping constant watch for any intruder (healthy eating, attitudes, thoughts, and actions) who might ask him to leave. With ED looming over everything, the body and mind are in a continuous state of stress. Breathing becomes restrained and shallow, digestion is inefficient, muscles are tense, jaws are clenched, the heart is compromised; the body chemistry and physiology are in the state of high alert. Tension is held throughout the body and this strain becomes habitual.

Being compassionate is the first step into the backdoor of calm awareness. So, as we come to the yoga mat and do something as sweet as take a deep breath and let out a soft sigh and relax the shoulders just a bit, we are offering our bodies a little oxygen, a little acknowledgement that things have been tough and a little release and opening. The body and mind start to get the message, “everything is already okay.” ED is oblivious to what is slipping in: comfort in the body, mind and spirit.

We focus a lot on the breath in our yoga sessions. A nice, big cleansing breath or a long, slow breath is so nourishing! It never fails, after a few minutes of breathing we can hear tummies rumble. This is because the relaxation response starts to kick in and when the body is in a calm, relaxed state, the digestive track says, “Okay, let’s get moving!”

In addition to breathing and relaxing, we also focus on feeling, watching and allowing sensations in the body. ED will have people constantly judging body places like the belly, thighs, arms, wrists, and ED will never have anything good to say about any of them. Feeling sensations takes us away from the habitual criticism of body places because we are not really feeling the tissue, but rather feeling what going on around, inside, between and beyond the tissue. We might start with a safe place, like the palm of the hand and tune-in to the sensation in that area. Words such as tingling, humming, vibrating, or whooshing are used to describe these new feelings that may never have been noticed before. The habit of criticizing is absent because this is a novel way of feeling the body that does not allow for evaluation, we are simply watching and allowing whatever is “happening” there. Patients often voice relief and a sense of freedom, having felt their bodies in this new way.

These simple Kripalu yoga practices of breathing, relaxing, feeling, watching and allowing, help in the healing from an eating disorder. They aid digestion, trigger the relaxation response, and offer a new way of experiencing the body. Most importantly, the door of calm awareness is opened, the true, healthy self is waiting inside, and there is a sense of coming home.