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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, I'm going to talk about healing body image issues. So according to research from Ann Kearney Cooke and Diana Tieger, around 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve a better body shape. In another survey, 40% of women and about 20% of men said they were considering cosmetic surgery in the near future. So having a negative body image, you know, that feeling of being constantly dissatisfied with the way your body looks is associated with higher levels of depression, low self-esteem, anxiety and fixations on losing weight.
This is a really tender topic for me personally. I'm in that 91% a lot of the time. I had an eating disorder when I was a teenager. And even though I've done a lot of healing and growing since then, this probably still remains one of my greatest challenges to work with in life. Now, many factors contribute to a negative body image - our culture, our upbringing, the way the human mind is wired, our peer group.
But the biggest influence for most of us is advertising and media. When we constantly scroll through images of filtered and photo-shopped and polished images of so-called ideal beauty standards, we're often left feeling deficient. In fact, research has shown that using social media for only 30 minutes a day has the potential to negatively change the way a person perceives their body. One 2010 study also showed that 47% of elementary school girls reported wanting to lose weight after looking through these kinds of pictures. Now for women, this can be especially hard because early in life, we get the message that our physical appearance is what matters.
So many of us have a tendency to become really self-critical about physical attributes that we don't feel in measuring up. But it's not just women. Many men are also really self-critical as well. And what can happen is when we start being self-critical when we're young, it can become a deep seated habit. But, you know, the more mindful awareness we can bring to those self-critical thoughts, the more we can learn to let them go and switch our focus to self-acceptance and self-compassion instead.
Our minds are trainable. So each time we practice being kinder to ourselves, we soften the inner critic and strengthen the muscle of self-love, confidence and inner strength. So my invitation for today and ongoing is every time you catch yourself being critical on yourself, about how you look, pause, and let go of those thoughts and then offer yourself some kind and supportive words. Offer yourself kindness instead of criticism, acceptance instead of aggression. And in this way, you will grow true confidence from the inside out and reclaim your own power to feel at home within your own skin and at ease with who you are right now.
So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And let's now settle in for today's meditation.
Healing Body Image Issues
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
Duration
Your default time is based on your progress and is changed automatically as you practice.
Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today, I'm going to talk about healing body image issues. So according to research from Ann Kearney Cooke and Diana Tieger, around 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve a better body shape. In another survey, 40% of women and about 20% of men said they were considering cosmetic surgery in the near future. So having a negative body image, you know, that feeling of being constantly dissatisfied with the way your body looks is associated with higher levels of depression, low self-esteem, anxiety and fixations on losing weight.
This is a really tender topic for me personally. I'm in that 91% a lot of the time. I had an eating disorder when I was a teenager. And even though I've done a lot of healing and growing since then, this probably still remains one of my greatest challenges to work with in life. Now, many factors contribute to a negative body image - our culture, our upbringing, the way the human mind is wired, our peer group.
But the biggest influence for most of us is advertising and media. When we constantly scroll through images of filtered and photo-shopped and polished images of so-called ideal beauty standards, we're often left feeling deficient. In fact, research has shown that using social media for only 30 minutes a day has the potential to negatively change the way a person perceives their body. One 2010 study also showed that 47% of elementary school girls reported wanting to lose weight after looking through these kinds of pictures. Now for women, this can be especially hard because early in life, we get the message that our physical appearance is what matters.
So many of us have a tendency to become really self-critical about physical attributes that we don't feel in measuring up. But it's not just women. Many men are also really self-critical as well. And what can happen is when we start being self-critical when we're young, it can become a deep seated habit. But, you know, the more mindful awareness we can bring to those self-critical thoughts, the more we can learn to let them go and switch our focus to self-acceptance and self-compassion instead.
Our minds are trainable. So each time we practice being kinder to ourselves, we soften the inner critic and strengthen the muscle of self-love, confidence and inner strength. So my invitation for today and ongoing is every time you catch yourself being critical on yourself, about how you look, pause, and let go of those thoughts and then offer yourself some kind and supportive words. Offer yourself kindness instead of criticism, acceptance instead of aggression. And in this way, you will grow true confidence from the inside out and reclaim your own power to feel at home within your own skin and at ease with who you are right now.
So as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us. And let's now settle in for today's meditation.
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Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
This is the app I turn to when I want to feel calm and loved.
- Abby
Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
This is the app I turn to when I want to feel calm and loved.
- Abby
Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
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