I would never show my belly in public. Never. That was the big one for me. I wanted a flat stomach.

Ironically, now I show my belly all the time, and tell people to look at my exposed belly. Let me explain:

The first time I ever practiced with Ana Forrest was at an all day intensive at a Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park. I had never done Uddiyana before(see pic below), and I certainly was not going to lift my shirt up and roll the waistband of my leggings down to expose my belly in front of everyone as she directed.

Hell no.

The movement itself was the hardest thing I’d ever done, nevermind letting my belly hang in front of people!

There I was, in horse, doing Uddi for the first time, with Ana herself; I chose to leave my belly covered. From behind me, Ana came up and lifted my shirt up for me.

There I was. Belly out. Couldn’t do Uddi, and Ana noticed that I didn’t follow direction. I learned real damn quick to lift my shirt up.

Once at FYFTT, it began to be no big deal to have my belly out, playing with different practices.

Then, I learned that I LOVE Uddiyana. Love it. It’s one of my favorite things ro do.

I am the first to whip my shirt up, fold my pants down, and tell entire room full of people to look at my belly.

I still didn’t have a flat belly, but I realized my belly was strong as fuck! Fuck flat! I want this fierce source of strength that I posses in my belly, regardless of shape.

I love Spring & Summer. I love flowers, green trees, being warm, and sandals. I can hardly contain my excitement to officially put away my Ugg’s.

There is a part of this upcoming sun filled season that sucks though:

THE BULLSHIT MARKETING TO GET YOUR ‘SUMMER’ BODY READY.

FUCK THAT

I spent years avoiding buying a swimsuit, having meltdowns in fitting rooms, and then spending more energy finding cover ups I could hide behind as much as possible.

I have no energy for that shit anymore.

Here is my agenda for getting ‘summer’ body ready:

-Shave my legs. Full transparency: I may have shaved my legs 3 times max since October. I’m lazy. No one is seeing or touching my legs, so who cares. But, I do need to pull this shit together to as I start to wear shorts & dresses.

*Maybe you don’t shave your legs at all; that’s cool! You don’t have to. I only speak for myself.

*I should probably get a bikini wax. Again, I haven’t bothered all winter. But, with the impending situation that calls for a swimsuit, I would like to not look like Chewbacca.

*With all of my sandals coming out of their winter rest, I need to give myself a pedicure. Yes, I’m barefoot all of the time to work, but I don’t paint my nails or worry if my feet look pretty. I make sure they are neat and clean, but boots and socks don’t do much to keep my feet soft. Besides, I like toenail polish with my sandals.

*I need to get my sunscreen regimen going. I wear sunscreen on my face 365, but not my whole body. Sunscreen is essential! Wear sunscreen friends!

And that friends, is what I am doing to get my ‘summer’ body ready.

No diets.

No extreme workouts.

No body hating dialogue.

No shame in my body. Winter or summer, my size does not have to change with the seasons.

Friends: please, I urge you to consider stepping away from toxic dialogue about having to wear a swimsuit or shorts. Your body is exactly as it should be today. Swimsuits come in MANY sizes. Not just small. Summer clothes are available for all shapes and sizes. You do not need to change your shape.

I’ll be in my shorts, swimsuits, and sandals all summer long, with ZERO FUCKS GIVEN about killing myself for the approval of assholes who judge. My body is already a summer, winter, fall, Christmas, Halloween, and everything else body. Exactly as it is.

See you at the pool you sexy mother fuckers!

Holly

Summer Body