Recently, Amber Krzys contacted me about helping her get the word out on her bodyheart project that she was working on. I checked out her website www.bodyheart.com and was intrigued by what she was creating and doing. 
The bodyheart campaign empowers women to celebrate their real beauty and fight back against the media and social norms that lead to poor body image. The campaign takes pictures of women and their favorite body part with a heart on it.
Helping women love their bodies and being comfortable in their own skin, has been a secret passion of mine, now that I have a daughter it is even more important to me that we try to help young girls and women develop a healthy sense of self that is not tied to how much they weigh or what they look like.
This is not an easy task… especially in our society where women are bombarded with negative images. Please check out the documentary MissRepresentation for a powerful look into how women are slaves to unrealistic expectations of their bodies. I just rented it from the library and watched it for a second time this week.
The bodyheart photo shoot was a great reminder to me to love my body, and to embrace my own beauty. I consciously decided to go to the photo shoot au natural, with no makeup and my hair in a ponytail. Honestly, this is who I am right now, a mom trying to find balance between work and family. Putting on makeup and doing my hair has dropped to the bottom of my priority list, whereas, finding time for to feed my inner soul is still on the top of my to do list: taking my vitamins, going for walks, stretching, spending time with friends and family. 
I would like to squeeze in a massage and yoga classes, but for now it is all good. Each month that passes, my daughter Maya is becoming more of her own little person and needs me a little less. I guess the saying is true, that once a baby is born the mom is always learning to let go.
Here is to being comfortable in your own skin and loving your body! Hopefully we can teach our young daughters to do the same.
To your health!
Sharon
