Mindful Self-Care and Positive Body Image: Mindfulness, Yoga, and Actionable Tools for Positive Embodiment

This chapter defines and describes an embodied pathway to positive body image. Building on the work of Drs. Niva Piran and Tracy Tylka, positive body image is defined as multifaceted, stable, malleable, and protective. Case examples are offered to provide lived experiences of an individual being as a body compared to living in dysregulation and objectification. Positive embodiment is detailed using philosophical theory and empirical work addressing both developmental and societal influences. Mindful self-care is introduced as an antidote to societal pressures and as an actionable set of tools to cultivate positive embodiment. This practice is detailed and an assessment process is explicated. Last, yoga is offered and described as a specific example of how mindful self-care and practice can shift one’s individual relationship with the body.