What’s Body Autonomy?

And why should I care?

A person stands amongst a field of yellow flowers gazing down at the flowers they have picked.

From the moment you were born into this world, your body was your own. Through a scientific process that can only be described as magic, your body formed around you and began providing you with your every need. It grew organs (eventually 78 in total) and produced hormones. It provided shelter, nourishment, instincts, and, slowly, the ability to communicate to better interact with the world around you. It cried when it was hungry and stopped when you were satiated. Your body (literally) has had your back from day one.

Of course, when we are young we need to depend on others to get our needs met. We follow social cues and interpret them as the “right” ways to be in the world in order to be accepted. We learn the most from those closest to us such as our parents, siblings, and friends. We copy others’ behaviors, follow disastrous fashion trends, but also harbor our own unique thoughts and ideas. We become enmeshed in the wide world around us. And yet, our bodies still contain the core truths to our being, they still have our back, they are still our own.

“Body Autonomy is a foundational human right that states that we have the right to choose what happens to our bodies without external influence or coercion. ”

Along the way, however, we often encounter disruptors to this empowered sense of self. When we are described as “overweight” by peers, family, or doctors we begin to distrust our body and its cues. We begin to ask questions like “Am I really hungry?” and “I shouldn’t feel this way right now.” If we experience trauma, have a disability, and/or are a part of a marginalized population, our body autonomy gets disrupted in similar ways through questioning the validity of our physical sensations, emotions, and the impact of oppressive structural systems. Our brains are slowly convinced that our bodies are enemies and we stop seeing our bodies are our own. Under the heavy influences of oppressive systems, we feel stripped of our ability to choose what we want for our bodies because it all gets so darn confusing.

I am here to say that it is time to reconnect with that inner, empowered self.

What does that mean? Well, it could look like choosing to heal your relationship with food and trying to get reacquainted with what you want in your life. Sounds daunting, right? No worries - I will be there with you every step of the way. And by “step” I mean we will take as many baby steps as is needed :)

Want to learn more about my approach? Check out my bio to see if we would be a good fit!