Welcome to the Body Compassion blog. My name is Jenn Altman—I am excited to be here and am thrilled to have you visit this site.
Body compassion is an idea that captures how an individual relates to their body. The Body Compassion blog is a passion project born of a lifelong fascination with the intersection of mindfulness and body. The hope for this blog is that it serves as a resource and a platform for exploration of how we as human beings interact with and experience our bodies, as individuals and collectives within society and culture. The earliest working definition of the academic construct of Body Compassion was “the regarding of one’s own body, in appearance, competence and health, with mindfulness, kindness and awareness of common humanity.” This definition is a work in progress, just like you and me.
A key aim of this blog is to get at the core of what human beings are navigating in society in the messages given about the primary importance of appearance, how bodies should look, how bodies should move, and how bodies should be inhabited. This is a space for open questioning and exploration, helping us break free of (and change!) these messages, relating directly to our own bodies, and owning our lives and identities beyond this physical shell. I suspect this process has the potential to result in freedom from the prison of always battling our bodies as the enemy, and that on the other side we can glimpse pure, unadulterated joy—experiencing the freedom to be alive and to be fully present for all that this life has to offer in each and every unique body size, shape, appearance and ability.
On a practical (and aspirational) level, the Body Compassion blog will initially consist primarily of blog posts translating scientific research studies regarding the body and mindfulness into a level of content that will (hopefully) be enjoyable, interesting and helpful for the non-scientist to read, and to apply. Posts will include tips and tools for applying these concepts in your own relationship with your body, in addition to broad informational content across all domains related to the body and mindfulness.
On a super practical level, while this blog has been a dream for a number of years, it is a first-time venture and definitely a work-in-progress. There will be a mix of whimsical, personal, and poetry-laden posts in the mix with the research. The schedule of posts and any additional offerings, such as newsletters, is yet to be determined, and likely to be somewhat sporadic at the beginning—although always aiming for at least one post per week. Many thanks in advance for your patience with, and participation in, the unfolding of this blog.
This is a collaborative effort. I would love to hear from you about your reactions, questions and topics of interest for future blog posts. What an exciting adventure awaits! I cannot wait to share it with you.
Thank you for being here.