00:00Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Essence Wellness House session, Ahead of the Curve,
00:10The Healthy Road to Body Positivity. I'm Brandi Victorian, the Senior Entertainment Editor here
00:15at Essence, and I'm joined today by Dr. Adia Gooden and Shantae Burkett. So I'm particularly
00:22excited about this conversation and so glad both of you are here with us because whenever we talk
00:28about body size, body weight, you know, there's always this topic of health that comes into play,
00:34but it's always about physical health and people having these concerns about physical health, but
00:38we never have a conversation really about mental health, emotional health, and the effects of things
00:43like body shaming, fat shaming, and all of that. And so this is going to be a different type of
00:47conversation that I'm really excited about. So I would love, Dr. Adia, to start with you.
00:52If you could tell us, what do we know about how your own body image affects your self-esteem and
00:59how things like fat shaming, body shaming also affect your view of self?
01:03Yeah, it's such a good question. So, I mean, especially for women, we know that we are,
01:11we receive messages explicitly and implicitly from an early age that our value in society,
01:17that our worth is connected to our physical appearance, right? So we know that people are
01:25treated differently based on how they look, and we know that people internalize, and girls as young as
01:33five, six, seven start to question whether their bodies are okay. So from a very early age, girls are
01:41taking in a message that we need to look a certain way in order for to be valued, appreciated, supported
01:49in society. And that certainly affects our self-esteem, our feelings that we can do what we want to in the
01:56world, that we can accomplish what we want to in the world. And it also affects our self-worth and our
02:01relationship with ourselves and our sense of, you know, are we good enough? Are we worthy of love and care
02:07and respect? Because what we see in the media is if you're thinner, if you're taller, if you have
02:13straighter hair, you know, all of these things, if you're lighter skinned, then you're worthy, then
02:19you're considered beautiful, then you're deserving of love. And so it can be really damaging to feel like
02:28the body we're in is not okay, and is not worthy of love and care. And when we experience body shaming,
02:35we then may internalize that and start to treat our own bodies poorly, which is not good for our
02:41mental health. And it's also not good for our physical health. Yeah. Just as you talked about
02:46representation, you know, sometimes all it takes is just seeing someone else who looks like you doing
02:51something you want to do or just living, you know, that can make such a difference. And that's where I
02:55think of you, Shantae. You know, I feel like you're the OG in this body positivity thing, simply from
03:01just existing, you know, telling your life, sharing your fashion, and all of that, particularly for
03:08Black plus size women. What was the relationship or the journey, you know, for you in terms of your
03:13relationship with your body and having a healthy one? I have to say, one, I have to point out,
03:18everybody's journey to healthy, a healthy body, their healthy journey is different. And for me,
03:25I would say, I never, it was never like a hate for me. It was more so I may have neglected just,
03:34you know, certain parts of me and my love and my body journey. It was more of because I didn't have
03:41the resources. I didn't have the knowledge. I didn't show up for myself. And once I started fully
03:47showing up for myself, that's when the full love for everything about me came in full circle.
03:54Yeah. And I love the word neglect, because I think sometimes, you know, that can be what it is,
04:02you know, not coming into your full self, not noticing all of the great things, you know, about
04:07yourself. And I think there's also this misconception, you know, when you are overweight or larger size,
04:12you know, than the average, although the average now is a size 16, you know, this idea that you're not
04:18only unhealthy, but you're also inactive, you're lazy, you're not moving at all. And I think,
04:24you know, an unfortunate question that I think also happens when people say you're working out,
04:28but you're not losing weight. There's this assumption that if you're, if you're moving,
04:32it's because you want to change something about yourself. And that's not, yeah, that's not necessarily
04:37it. I would love Dr. Adia, if you could talk about, you know, the benefits of physical fitness that
04:43have nothing to do with wanting to change your appearance. Yeah, you know, I think what we know
04:48is that moving our bodies is helpful in so many ways. It's helpful for our overall physical health,
04:55and it's helpful for our mental health, right? So it reduces anxiety, it reduces depression,
05:01it reduces stress. And so many of us spent a lot of time living in our heads, worrying, thinking,
05:07ruminating, and exercising, moving, dancing, just moving around, getting out, going for a walk can
05:14really ground us in our bodies and help us to be more present. And so I really like to encourage
05:20people to engage in regular physical activity, whatever their favorite forms are, on a regular
05:28basis without concern for or thinking about this changing their body in any way, and to choose things
05:34that they enjoy. For example, I hate running. So I don't run. Even though everybody's about the
05:39marathon, the half marathon, I'm not interested. I do not like that. My body doesn't like it. So
05:44that's not what I do. What I do love is dancing. So I often take dance classes. So I think it's
05:50important to incorporate this because our bodies were made to move. And we need that to be mentally
05:56healthy and well, and to disconnect it from the narrative that it has to be punishing, or mean that we
06:03don't like our bodies. Yeah, I agree. And I think there's also so many ways to love on your body.
06:09You know, I think physical activity is one part. I'm a super skincare person. So I'm like, give me the
06:15creams, give me the mask, all of that. What are some of each of your, you know, beauty rituals that
06:22you use to also appreciate your body? Well, I can go first. So I love putting essential oils in the
06:35shower. I use lavender and rosemary, which are super calming. The best gift I got for Christmas was a
06:42massage chair. So I do that. And I love massages, just things that sort of relax me. I like to stretch.
06:49Um, and I recently got like a jade roller also to sort of move things around and clear things up. So
06:58those are some of my, my favorite routines that make my body feel good. Nice. I'm also an oil girl.
07:07Um, so I love baths. So I love baths, essential baths. Like I love just, you know, trying different
07:14things, like even putting some herbs in there a little bit. And I love body oils, body oils,
07:20shower oils. And another thing that is just very random that I do, I turn on music and I just dance.
07:26Mm-hmm. I love that. Well, I want to thank you both, uh, for this conversation. You know,
07:33I think the most important thing is body positivity is about accepting all bodies in whatever state
07:39they're in. Um, and just as, you know, Shantae said in the beginning, everyone's journey is different.
07:44And I think we have to be respectful of everyone's journey, um, just as we do everyone's bodies. But
07:48for those, you know, trying to start that journey, I think this conversation gives them some good
07:52starting points. So I appreciate you both, uh, for being with us and thank you all for tuning in to
07:57Essence Women's House.
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