Women, be healthy and free, like a tree
It's true that most Mexican women in traditional communities live with a lot of contradictory ideas about health and beauty, as we do in the United States, though here it may be more exaggerated: Many Mexican women aspire to (and are expected also) to want to preserve traditions, and have the chance to also ascend to their 'modern' abilities and potential personal goals. It is true that mass marketing and the media re-enforces the image of the irrationally skinny and feminine latina, while at the same time selling products that are ridiculously full of sugar and saturated fats that cause diabetes and cancer. It is also true that while many Mexican women are underweight until they marry, they then become seriously overweight, I see firsthand that diabetes is a huge problem here. I won't include statistics (look it up yourself, holmes!) I am concerned with this more than ever, too. It's hard to balance the act between beauty, health, and self esteem.
Today I was inspired by an article from a fellow doctor in my community who wrote:
"Eve Ensler, the famous playwright of the "Vagina Monologues", traveled the world asking women across all cultures if they liked their bodies. She was able to find only TWO WOMEN in the world who didn’t have a problem with some body part or another.
One wise African woman explained to Eve, who was having trouble accepting her “not-so-flat post forty stomach”, as she refers to it, to look at the trees. She explained that they all look different, that they are all supposed to look different, and that each one is beautiful in its own right.
"Each of us custom builds our lives. Pay attention to where you are putting your energy. Build in a balance of work and play, nourish yourself, learn to say no, and if people are getting mad at you, you are probably on the right track! If we nourish ourselves by building a life that we want, we won't have to fill that hole with unhealthy and excessive foods. Make a difference in the world by being all that you can be, your own unique tree. - Carol Bowman, MD
Carol Bowman, MD, ABHM
Today I was inspired by an article from a fellow doctor in my community who wrote:
"Eve Ensler, the famous playwright of the "Vagina Monologues", traveled the world asking women across all cultures if they liked their bodies. She was able to find only TWO WOMEN in the world who didn’t have a problem with some body part or another.
One wise African woman explained to Eve, who was having trouble accepting her “not-so-flat post forty stomach”, as she refers to it, to look at the trees. She explained that they all look different, that they are all supposed to look different, and that each one is beautiful in its own right.
"Each of us custom builds our lives. Pay attention to where you are putting your energy. Build in a balance of work and play, nourish yourself, learn to say no, and if people are getting mad at you, you are probably on the right track! If we nourish ourselves by building a life that we want, we won't have to fill that hole with unhealthy and excessive foods. Make a difference in the world by being all that you can be, your own unique tree. - Carol Bowman, MD
Carol Bowman, MD, ABHM
posted by Akire at 5:31 PM
1 Comments:
Putting it in practice: This philosophy of being who you are with a little encouragement, like, "Shrink Your Female Fat Zones" by Denise Austin, sounds blunt, and to the point, because it is! (good video!) Feeling nice about oneself involves motivation, physical movement, and commitment to having time to yourself to pay attention to what you need nutritionally and mentally, that's the key. I'm practicing not answering the door or phone or email while i shrink 'em for my SELF, for my health, and for fun.
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