EP 9: Nina Manolson - Heal Your Relationship With Your Body

My podcast guest, Nina Manolson, helps women over 40 end their war with food and heal their relationship with their body. As a Body-Trust Guide, Psychology of Eating and Nationally Board Certified Holistic Health Coach she is a relationship counselor for women and their bodies.

She’s the creator of the Body-Love Continuum, the map that helps women shift from body-hate and self-criticism into body-ease, body-trust® and body-love. She’s also the founder of the Nourished Woman Nation.

So many women struggle with their relationship with their food and body. Nina supports you in reclaiming a positive and nourishing relationship with your body. She approaches the realm of women-food-body-nourishment from a different perspective—one of FREEDOM not restriction. Nina is all about helping you discover your value and beauty within your current body.

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EP 9: Nina Manolson – Heal Your Relationship With Your Body

Show Notes for Episode 9

At War With Your Body and Food

2:00 Nina describes the war she had with her body, with food, and the focus on how she looked in her family of origin.

3:24 Our culture focuses so much on our size, which creates an unhealthy relationship with our bodies. Nina talks about how she moved into an authentic and compassionate relationship with her body.

5:25 We place a strong negative value judgment on someone’s size and appearance. How do we come into a relationship with ourselves that nourishes and doesn’t medicate us?

What Is a Woman of Value to Nina?

“A woman of value is someone who values herself, her unique gifts, brilliance, brand of beauty. When we value ourselves, it becomes clear to others that we are valuable. She is also a woman of service.”

7:00 Nina shares some ways we can start taking small steps to value our relationship with ourselves.

7:50 What is a woman of service? It’s not about giving up parts of ourselves or being a martyr. Listen to what it IS to Nina.

Repairing the World and Healing Your Body

9:32: What does the Hebrew Kabbalistic term, ‘Tikun Olam’ mean? It’s about repairing the world, which starts with repairing our own world, so we can do great work.

12:46 You’re being robbed of life if your obsession with food takes you from life. Nina describes her body map, and the continuum from body shame to body love. How do we get there?

16:30 How our relationship with our bodies affects our sex lives. It comes from trying to manage our bodies to be ‘just so’. We try to control our bodies and our weight.

Feeling Out of Control With Food

21:30 Nina shares a beautiful poem she wrote about control and food.

your body

I’M OUT OF CONTROL WITH MY FOOD
by Nina Manolson

I’m already full
I reach for more

I don’t stop

I know I should
I know I won’t feel good
I know I’ll judge myself after.

I can’t stop

I know this nutrition stuff
I know the food that makes me feel good
I know the food that makes me feel like crap

My head knows
My hands reach

I can’t stop

I want to be taking care of myself
I want to be kind to myself
But I make choices that make me tired
Choices that make me wired
Choices that make me feel like a failure

I can’t stop

I say to myself I’ll start tomorrow
I’ll start Monday
I need more willpower
I need more control

But I can’t stop

But what if it wasn’t about control
What if it wasn’t about “putting down the fork”
What if it wasn’t about hating yourself into compliance

What if it wasn’t about STOPPING

What if it was about STARTING

Starting to deeply hear what my body wants
Starting to honor my needs
Starting to tend to my nervous system
Starting to soothe the anxiety
Starting to tell the story of my body
Starting to mother myself
Starting to respect my shape
Starting to make peace with my body.

I can START

The Visibility Hangover

28:15 Nina speaks about visibility, and the vulnerability in being so visible. She often has a visibility ’hangover’. She describes what she does to help herself through the shame of the imperfection hangover. She calms her adrenals by reminding herself she’s safe.

33:00 There are some fears that are real, and some that are not. Nina shares the difference between the two.

The Body Map

37: 49 Nina’s method for healing your relationship with food is laid out. Here’s how she works with women with her body map. She talks about how we can’t care for ourselves when we’re hating ourselves.

You can still be drawn to diets and comparing, but you can notice it and not let it take you down. “Hear it, and turn the volume down. Don’t respond.”

45:20 Nina speaks about being ‘body current’, adjusting to your changing body. Our discomfort with our bodies leads us to the cultural norm of diet or we adjust to our bodies and what our bodies need.

Find the Wisdom in Your Body

46:16 It’s not a one size fits all when it comes to dieting. Find the wisdom in your own body.

Nina’s about to launch a compassionate eating program. She also has a year-long program called the Nourished Path, and she’s working on performing her poetry more often.