Our relationship with the body keeps changing because life keeps changing. Aging, illness, pleasure, visibility, food, movement, family, work, grief, and the need for rest all bring new questions into the conversation.
This continuation collects later conversations from the ongoing Body Image Study Group led by Cathy Vartuli and Rick Wilkes. Cathy and Rick alternated facilitating the sessions and sometimes led them together. Community members brought what was emotionally alive, and the group used inquiry, coaching, and tapping to explore a more respectful partnership with the body.
Start with a Guide that fits what you are experiencing, or browse the original sessions by date. Some calls became one or more focused Guides. Others remain here because the conversation is worth hearing even when it did not need another article.
Begin with the original Body Image Study Group collection
Explore the Guides
Aging, identity, and visibility
- Aging Without Rehearsing Decline
- Make the Video Before You Look Camera-Ready
- When Body Shame Is Carrying Anger
- When Femininity and Visibility Feel Dangerous
- When One Part Wants to Be Big and Another Wants to Be Small
- You Do Not Have to Become the Body Your Family Predicted
Food, weight, and enoughness
Movement, energy, and body partnership
- Care for Your Body Without Starting Another War
- Movement Can Be Pleasure, Not Punishment
- Rest, Recalibration, and the Fear You Are Hiding
- When Play Feels Unfair
- Your Body Needs a Rhythm, Not a Rescue
Health, symptoms, and medical uncertainty
Explore the Original Sessions
The sessions below are arranged chronologically. Each transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.
2011
August 14, 2011
Waking in the middle of the night, feeling judgmental; Doctor fears coming up again; My body is holding sadness and depression; I use my age to hold myself back; Celebrating a breakthrough!; Tension in my hands.
Guides drawn from this session:
August 28, 2011
Ankles & Joints; Stabbing pain in shoulder from triggered childhood trauma; Neck pain: Resentful and feeling abandoned that I had to empty the whole house myself.
September 11, 2011
Stuck at a plateau; Fear of random disaster, not safe; Waking up anxious, just been dreaming.
October 2, 2011
Off-kilter, head and back of neck; What if I get a man, fat self; 2 weeks of pain; Disconnected at the gym; Unbearable.
Guides drawn from this session:
October 16, 2011
Unbalanced when bending over; Making the gym more playful; Chasing the pain and releasing the belief I’m stuck with it; Getting sick around the holidays; Getting better…my vacations over- or is it?.
Guides drawn from this session:
October 30, 2011
I don’t have enough power; Shoulder pain; Is this because of age?; Anger!; Blaming self for sickness, devious subconscious; Can’t do it!.
Guides drawn from this session:
November 13, 2011
Shame about my body and my big thighs; Chasing the pain for 4 days; Shame about my weight… angry about their judgments; Intensity… awkwardness.
Guides drawn from this session:
December 4, 2011
Empty inside; Keep gaining weight; Older I’m getting, the worse my posture; Fixating when things go wrong in my body; Strong physical reaction to a meeting.
December 18, 2011
Raised rash welt on my right side… helplessness; More helplessness… with outbursts; Lot of gratitude for Thriving Now.
2012
January 8, 2012
Losing weight, but not enough; I’m not good enough; Ashamed of my weight; scared of being more powerful; menopause and listening to my body.
January 22, 2012
I don’t care enough about me; deep shame coming up; Old pain keeps me safe?; Pain in shoulder.
Guides drawn from this session:
February 5, 2012
Mouth infection and pain; Not taking care of my body; Resistance and rehabilitation; Adversarial relationship.
Guides drawn from this session:
February 19, 2012
Get more energy… then depleted again (changing that cycle); My back feels twisted one way and then the other. Me too!; Procrastinating on my NEED TO’s; Dropping and spilling things… body speaking up; Emotional ‘rumble strips’ can help bring you back to your alignment; Invoicing… and reminders of my brother.
Guides drawn from this session:
March 4, 2012
Electronics Sensitivity; Right hip hurting… pain is moving; Spiritual presence and body boundaries; Guarding limiting me; Energy fields; Accepting my body as it is.
March 18, 2012
Headaches since Christmas; Fear of letting go; Tapping while you smoke; Let the angels take it away.
April 1, 2012
Touch, Love, Allowing; Smoking addiction: my body is telling me I don’t want them, and I need them; Tuning too much into the outcome THEY want; Overwhelmed by everything and carry lots of old traumas inside.
April 22, 2012
Lose and gain weight back again; Now I’m serious; Frustrated about losing weight; Colon spasms when I’m tense; Ashamed of my body.
Guides drawn from this session:
May 6, 2012
Body changes, archetypes, activating new energy; Lighter thinking, softer attitude; Tuning your vitality level up and down; I don’t believe in the ability to change my body; Brain and heart connection.
Guides drawn from this session:
June 10, 2012
Finding my feminine spark; Accepting my body around my family; Judgement about what I wear; Unwanted attention; Physical stamina, people get angry when I get tired.
Guides drawn from this session:
July 15, 2012
Physical issues and how I store things in my body; Clearing pain; Curious how to get inside my body; Holding hands; Sugar/soda.
August 12, 2012
Talking with a toe through play and imagination; Letting body parts have personality and a voice; Building a less clinical, more affectionate body relationship.
September 23, 2012
Constant feeling of tension in my shoulders and butt; Things to be skeptical about; Ugly… pain… redefining BEAUTY; Don’t see a way out…; Where the fuck were you!?!?.
Guides drawn from this session:
October 28, 2012
Fear of being analyzed for skin and appearance; Entering a new spiritual group; Letting other people see more than a perceived flaw.
November 25, 2012
Feeling detached from the body; Learning to notice sensation without force; Rebuilding contact with the body as a lived home.
December 23, 2012
Son got in trouble at school; How to talk to my daughter; Being good IN-HEART… not just IN BED; Accepting the body reaction that is painful.
2013
January 27, 2013
How about this terrible virus?; I stopped focusing so much on losing weight, and I didn’t get heavier!; This belly fat thing.
Guides drawn from this session:
February 24, 2013
Staying present during medical care; “If I know what is good for me, I will do what I am told”; Disagreeing, asking questions, and keeping adult authority.
Guides drawn from this session:
March 17, 2013
Sensual body connection with Self; My body and self-expression; I say nice things to my body; I hate my body (10!).
Guides drawn from this session:
April 21, 2013
A visible tooth injury and the wish to smile freely; Body yes and body no; Trauma, healing, and giving the body some hope.
Guides drawn from this session:
May 19, 2013
My family says none of us are good at sports; Struggling with secret shame; Felt like I was outside my body with everyone looking at me.
Guides drawn from this session:
June 23, 2013
I want to be big and powerful and cute and small; Body stressed by lots of outside stimulus; Customer service is pinching my stomach; This is going to be bad forever!!.
Guides drawn from this session:
July 21, 2013
Pleasure alongside physical risk; The body’s capacity to heal; Soothing touch; Reclaiming sensual response without losing control.
September 1, 2013
Body worry moving from teeth to wrinkles to hair; Challenging the assumption that aging means deterioration; Beauty, worth, and the endless demand to do more.
Guides drawn from this session:
October 13, 2013
When the body feels full of fear; Expanding possibilities for comfort; Shame about needing help; Speaking about pain without turning it into an identity.
Guides drawn from this session:
November 24, 2013
Releasing weight as an identity; Forgiving years spent in self-attack; Experiencing movement and dance beyond physical limitation.
2014
January 12, 2014
Mental effort, choice overload, and a strong body no; Distinguishing guidance from guilt; Using a menu when the primitive brain cannot find the next step.
February 16, 2014
A food ceasefire followed by fear-driven eating; Chocolate as safety, ritual, and connection; Bringing mindfulness to comfort without coercion.
Guides drawn from this session:
March 16, 2014
Supporting the body during a medical procedure; Smoking, self-care, and primitive-brain urgency; Impatience for healing versus learning friendship with the body.
Guides drawn from this session:
April 27, 2014
Recovery after work and sensory load; Preparing the body for physical play; Imagination, stable strength, and the emotional experience of movement.
Guides drawn from this session:
May 18, 2014
Making videos while feeling self-conscious about teeth and appearance; Family anger and non-negotiable boundaries; Finding the body’s path of least resistance.
Guides drawn from this session:
June 29, 2014
Confidence on video; Bikini shame and imagined scrutiny; Family and media fixation on weight; Sharing useful work before shame disappears.
Guides drawn from this session:
- Make the Video Before You Look Camera-Ready
- You Do Not Have to Become the Body Your Family Predicted
July 27, 2014
Chronic fatigue and the fear of self-sabotage; Secondary gain without blame; Anger, safety, and supporting healing under uncertainty.
Guides drawn from this session:
August 24, 2014
Grief and body intuition; Hope without certainty; Rest, withdrawal, and recalibration; Sensitive people learning to trust inner guidance.
Guides drawn from this session:
September 28, 2014
The guilt of playing while a partner works; Fairness, energetic sensitivity, and different rhythms; Pain as a body signal; Health intentions without expecting to feel good all the time.
Guides drawn from this session:
These recordings include personal experiences and reflect the understanding available at the time. Emotional regulation and tapping can support a kinder relationship with the body, but they are not substitutes for qualified medical, mental health, trauma, or eating-disorder care.