Today, as I got dressed, I realized what that change had made possible.
Not in a dramatic, door-slamming way—but in the quiet realization that we were no longer good partners. I stopped seeing my body as something to conquer or control and began learning how to partner with it instead.
The New Year used to arrive with a familiar promise:
This will be the year I shrink into the body I want to be in.
Then I’ll be good enough to… rest, enjoy, belong, be seen.
But what I’ve learned—both personally and professionally—is that this mindset often creates more distance between our bodies and our minds. It invites dissociation rather than care. Control rather than connection.
So I tried something different.
For several years now, I’ve looked in the mirror and said to my body:
“Wow. You are doing a really good job.”
I began taking responsibility for the parts of health I can influence, while releasing the need to micromanage the parts I can’t. I started treating my body less like a project and more like a trusted companion.
I told my body:
“I will give you nourishing food consistently throughout the day.
I will move you daily—in ways that support strength, comfort, flexibility, and mobility.
I will protect rest, because repair and growth require it.
And I will choose gratitude as the emotional place I return to each night.”
Then I said something that changed everything:
“Your job is to decide what to do with these choices. I trust you.”
I trust my body to choose my size.
I trust it to decide where to store fat, where to build muscle, where to hold reserves.
I trust it to communicate needs through sensation, appetite, fatigue, and desire.
I stopped negotiating with dress sizes and started listening instead.
Some days, I thank my joints simply for showing up.
I thank my feet for carrying me, for enabling exploration and adventure.
I thank my nervous system for protecting me—even when it gets a little overzealous.
This doesn’t mean I’ve stopped caring for my health.
It means I’ve stopped being at war with myself.
And in that shift—from control to partnership—something surprising happened:
I became more present in my body, not less.
More consistent, not more rigid.
More compassionate, not complacent.
As we enter a new year, I wonder how different this idea might feel for you.
What would it be like to work with your body instead of against it?
If this reflection resonates, you don’t have to explore it alone. In my counseling work, I help people gently reconnect with their bodies, rebuild trust, and step out of cycles of shame, control, and disconnection. Together, we move at a pace that feels safe and honoring—listening to what your body is already communicating and learning how to respond with care rather than criticism. If you’re curious about what embodied, compassionate support could look like for you, I’d love to walk alongside you.
