When we look in the mirror we don’t necessarily see the reality of our own body. Our body image is highly subjective, as is our body satisfaction, how we feel about our own body. Those of us with high body satisfaction approve of, and care for our bodies despite it’s real or perceived imperfections. Body dissatisfaction can lead to obsessing about changing the body, unhealthy food and exercise habits, shame or guilt. Those with low body satisfaction are likely to avoid social situations and potentially avoid exercise as they don’t want to expose their ‘imperfect’ body. This becomes a vicious circle as avoidance of these situations is avoiding the very things that can improve their body satisfaction. In fact, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, professor at University of Minnesota, has found a strong correlation between body satisfaction and a regular yoga practice.
A Study
46 young adults who practice yoga at least 30 minutes per week were interviewed for Neumark-Sztainer’s findings and 83% expressed that yoga has a positive impact on their body image. These 46 people are part of a 1664 people strong, 15 year long study of health and well-being, Project EAT. The 46 young adults who reported improved body image were also found to have higher levels of body satisfaction than the other people in the study.
Article originally commissioned and published by Yoga Basics, click to read full article