It's My Hips Isn't It?!

Use your assets to reach new heights. You might dislike some of those assets, but they are yours, so why not make the most of them?

My hips and saddlebags have always been a trial in my life. I buy bigger pants specifically to get them up and over my hips; however to keep from showing crack I need to wear a belt. 

My hips and saddle bags sometimes make me feel like I should be yelling giddy-up while walking up the stairs at work though. It takes a lot of energy to move those things! 

However, while playing basketball, my hips are highly sought after. I have command over the area around me, because my hips are powerful, immovable, and nearly unstoppable. On the court, my hips are coveted. Here we are again, back at "perspective".

The other night I started a new course at the local community college on Body Image. I'm really excited and nervous about the content and conversations we'll be having over the next eight weeks. 

In this introductory course I heard something that I know I've heard before, but this time I understood it. 

My instructor said that "body image isn't inherent, rather it is cultivated; it is learned"... this resonated and all of the sudden I felt physically and mentally light; for just a brief moment. 

I felt light because I knew that just like other things that can be learned, if not practiced it can be lost, but with appropriate effort it can be rewritten. 

I've been actively engaged in trying to view myself differently for the past few years. This change in perspective has come via hard work, as previously described in several posts (such as in Mirror Therapy, Digging Deep, It's About Visualization, Doing Most Everything, The Power of Experience, Get In My Belly Parts 1, 2, & 3, Worth The Effort, and My Road Back). 

It's been a work in progress to walk away with the realization that what I felt as a socially awkward and over-indulged kid, doesn't have to continue. 

The frustration I feel over my darn gut, triceps area, hips and thighs can be reduced, simply by changing my perspective about them. I'm sure over the next few weeks I will come to understand even more about creating an even more positive body image. 

I believe good things will come of this course that I'm in, because I'm already in a receptive state of mind. I owe it to myself to continually create a better understanding. 

After all the weight I've lost I was bound to have some residual effects of loose skin. The skin is pulling tight over time though. It just takes time.