Embody: A Body Appreciation Skills Group
What has come between you and feeling at home in your body?
How did you first come to learn that your body was a problem?
None of this is your fault. You are not broken.
It’s time to try something different to stop the endless cycle of shame and body blame.*
Learn actual strategies you can use regularly to help you develop a loving and peaceful relationship with your body. The Be Body Positive Model does not promise a quick fix (like diets do), but rather, is a framework to help you truly transform your relationship with your body over time.
In this group, we will talk about:
- How to establish yourself as the ultimate expert of your body and take back your power from the forces, systems, and establishments that keep you in fear around your body and health
- How to get back in tune with your intuition and learn to trust your body’s innate wisdom
- How to treat yourself more kindly and understand your self-criticism in a new light
- How to expand your definition of beauty so that it includes yourself and all people
- How to create a community of people who can support you
Published research has indicated that negative feelings about one’s appearance is linked with increased sexual anxiety and lower sexual esteem. The good news is, just as we can learn skills for coping with anxiety, we can learn skills to better support body image. The Be Body Positive Model by The Body Positive offers a way of living that offers permission to love, forgive, care for, and take pleasure in one’s body throughout the lifespan.
Who is this group for?
The Be Body Positive Model has been used for both the prevention and treatment of eating disorders, with people on the spectrum of eating and body image issues. The model is beneficial for people who don’t have defined struggles but wish to experience more joy in their relationships with their bodies and lives.
The Model
The Be Body Positive Model is comprised of five core life skills or “Competencies” that promote a healthy, confident relationship to the body. When people become proficient at using these skills, they are able to care for themselves in body, mind and spirit from a place of self-love and appreciation. Each Competency is supported by numerous independent research studies. Embodying The 5 Competencies reconnects individuals with their precious natural resources of trust, intuition, self-love and connectedness with others. The model offers a sustainable framework for living in one’s body that is free from double binds, judgement, and blame and honors the influence of unique life circumstances on self-care. The following graph illustrates what the Be Body Positive Model offers – and what it does not. The Body Positive Model offers:
| Tools for a lifetime of exploration | vs. | A static goal-oriented view of life |
| A practical framework of self-inquiry | vs. | A step-by-step program |
| A whole-person health model | vs. | A weight loss program |
| A definition of health that is based on balanced self-care and self-love | vs. | An idealized external image of a “healthy” person. |
| No double binds | vs. | Conflicting messages that leave people confused or frustrated |
| Attuned self-care | vs. | “Rules” about eating and exercise |
| A foundation of self-love and forgiveness | vs. | “Shoulds” and punishment |
| A celebration of diversity as beauty | vs. | A limited definition of “ideal” beauty |
| The development of positive communities | Vs. | Connecting with others through negative self-talk |
What happens in a session?
Group guidelines help to create a brave space for vulnerability and sharing. Group starts with a check in around a prompt from the last session. Then on to a couple of activities that may include a video, a guided reflection, an art project or discussion. Before we leave, the prompt for next week’s check-in will be provided. Snacks will be served at one of the final sessions, while water and hot drinks are available throughout. Having a dedicated journal or notebook is recommended for notes and reflection.
About the Facilitator
With more than 15 years of experience teaching and training, Jenna Weintraub facilitates professional development workshops and education sessions on varying sexuality and sexual health topics with an interest in program delivery for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, teens, people of size and people raising children. As a member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health, a yoga teacher and a certified Be Body Positive Program facilitator, she supports people in examining diet culture and reclaiming their bodies. Jenna has a special skill for conveying complicated, sensitive information in a positive, accurate and nonjudgmental manner; always shame-free, comprehensive, and with a pleasure-positive approach.
When are the sessions?
Our next Embody group will be Wednesday nights, 6:30-7:45 PM in January.
Cost
$350 per person
$525 if you sign up with a partner ($175 discount)
Registration
Fill out our registration form: https://forms.myupdox.com/#/form/109897. This is a secure, HIPAA-compliant program and your information will be treated as patient health information. The group facilitator will reach out to you to confirm your registration.
Want to host this program at your organization, college campus or group?
Jenna is a licensed Body Positive facilitator and can host a group or education sessions for your organization. Education is available for middle school, high school, college groups and adults. Email info@rochestercenterforsexualwellness.com for more information.
Commitment to Honoring Diversity
The philosophy underpinning this work is truly universal because it honors each person’s unique knowledge, life experience, and ancestral inheritance. Rather than dictating a prescriptive set of rules to follow, we guide people through patient, mindful inquiry to find what works uniquely in their own lives to bring about positive self-care changes and peaceful relationship with their bodies. We welcome people diverse in all ways – size, shape, ethnicity, gender, age, ability, culture, and all of the other ways human beings are unique.
Do you have a group for kids?
The Be Body Positive Model’s research has shown to be effective for youth as young as 11 years of age. However Jenna has experience working with groups as young as 9 to help address body image, eating, and movement. Providing positive messages and evidence based curriculum at a young age sets children up for success in this challenging environment.
Can you help folks raise body positive children?
Absolutely. I provide consultations to caregivers, educators and service providers. One of Jenna’s favorite type of group to run is a child/caregiver workshops for youth and their loved ones, great for Scout Troops!
Note
The Be Positive discussion groups do NOT provide treatment for eating disorders or mental health. The facilitator is trained in a referral protocol and will utilize the behavioral health team at RCSW and local resources.
*Kinavey, Hilary; Sturtevant, Dana. Reclaiming Body Trust. Penguin Publishing Group.