June 2006

Special Feature

Body Image

See Yourself From the Inside Out

An older woman came to a Nia class in Portland, and while she was chatting with Carlos before the class, she said, "I want to change my thighs."

"Do you like your thighs?" Carlos asked.

She looked at him as if he were from another planet.

Nevertheless, she began attending classes on a regular basis, and eventually Carlos convinced her to start wearing shorts to class that revealed her thighs, instead of wearing a long, loose skirt. It was hard for her to do this, but as soon as she did, she began to accept her thighs, just as they were. She realized that her thighs were a part of her – not punishment from heaven above – and that to hate them was to hate herself. When she finally accepted her thighs – and herself – then she really began to change.

Many people think that change can only come from dissatisfaction – but it's the other way around. As long as you refuse to accept yourself, you'll stay stuck in the low-energy, black hole of self-doubt. But if you can find things you like about yourself, you'll get a new rush of energy, and a new burst of confidence and ambition. Self-hate is self-defeating, but self-acceptance is empowering.

Unfortunately, many people, particularly women, become mired down by the terrible inertia that arises from not liking their own bodies. At its worst, this attitude becomes the diagnosable phenomenon of "body dysmorphic disorder." Nia, however, creates the opposite effect – a "body euphoric" phenomenon.

One of the ways we do this is by focusing on the immediate pleasure of physical sensation, rather than upon image-oriented goals that cannot be reached until far into the future. We teach people to enjoy their bodies, and to savor how good their bodies feel. Once they begin to enjoy how their bodies feel, it's usually easy for them to start to love their bodies, flaws and all.

Furthermore, we teach people to look at themselves from a whole new perspective using a technique we call "X-ray Anatomy." This technique is far more advanced than the conventional assessment of How-fat-am-I? or How-strong-am-I?

X-ray Anatomy can change the way you see yourself.

Article contains excerpts from the book, "The Nia Technique"

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