Shira

A Body Beautiful

by Jodi Blubaugh

“Many people treat their bodies as if they were rented from Hertz--something they are using to get around in but nothing they genuinely care about understanding.”

--Chungliang Al Huang

I grew up hating, I mean really hating my body. I have always had a chubby body and until a few years ago I thought that meant that I was in some way inferior. There are probably other women who feel this way also. We are our own worst critics and imperfections that seem catastrophic to us might not even get noticed by someone else.

Why do we treat ourselves this way? I would like to say it is all the fault of our corrupt society blah, blah, blah. But the truth is that we are self-centered and too concerned about how things reflect on us. Please understand, I am not saying this is wrong. It just is what it is.

What I really want to say is this: I am not my body! You are not your body! The body is just a tool for you to employ. Perhaps, if we could believe that when we treat ourselves with respect and nurturing the energy of our body would change. Until then consider that your body is an instrument for you to dance with. It is beautiful regardless of its size, shape or ability.

Although we like to look our best, does that mean that we have to look like that model in Cosmo? I want to look my best and my best is different than your best or the Cosmo model’s best. I am unique in my mind and in my looks and that is as it should be. Love your body, it is an amazing work of art and architecture, even if it isn’t perfect.

About the Author

Jodi Blubaugh was first introduced to bellydance in college. She was taking a humanities course and her instructor assigned a semester project. The assignment was to identify an art form she had not yet experienced, learn what she could about it, and report on it at the semester’s end.

Jodi wanted to learn more about bellydance but was overweight and had some serious self-esteem issues and shyness. It was a tough decision to put herself out there like that. She said, "I knew that if I was ever going to be happy with being me, there was no way I could back down from this challenge no matter how scared I was."

Jodi enrolled in a community education bellydance class. Phase one of her plan had commenced. Her task consisted of 8 weeks of bellydance classes, a recital, a performance for the humanities class, and one really thick shell to break through.

She said:

"I must have been insane. I wasn’t really prepared for what would happen next. This seemingly haphazard decision would be one of the great blessings of my life. At the beginning of this journey I did not know who I was. I have now been dancing for several years and am grateful for the lessons I have learned about passion and living life to its fullest. Bellydance is still looked down on by some as being immoral, sinful or dirty. To those people I would say, you always find what you are looking for. I have only sought the joy and the grace that this dance form is. Learning to dance has played a huge part in my learning to accept myself as good enough, just the way I am. Of course this isn’t the end of my journey but from my experience I have learned more of who I am. I am the breath of life. I am the infinite. I am beautiful. I am feminine. I AM THE GODDESS. There’s no turning back now.

"I have been dancing for 4 years and writing my whole life. I am hoping that others like me will find the courage to do the thing that will make them happy, whether it be dancing or something else. The time has come for us to find our joy and live it!"