Can You Get Fit Without Self-Loathing? | Cara Lai

It’s an urgent question for so many of us: Can we exercise, can we take care of our bodies, without being driven by shame, self-loathing, or noxious comparison to other people?

Our guest today has a unique perspective on this. Cara Lai is a former social worker and psychotherapist who is now a Buddhist teacher. She also used to be a marathoner. But in the last few years, her body has undergone some radical changes, leading her to some hard-won, fascinating, and deeply useful insights about how to strike the balance between taking care of your body and staying sane.

In this episode we talk about:

Practices for that moment when you’re getting out of the shower, see yourself in the mirror, and engage in a festival of self-judgmentThe surprising things that happened when Cara was forced to stop exercisingA counterintuitive mindfulness practice suggestion for those with exercise routinesWhen and why you should purposely do things you know are bad for youWhy we often resist ‘being in our bodies,’ why that’s OK, and how to lower the bar on this contemplative cliché–without giving it upA body-related Buddhist practice she finds to be totally not useful

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/cara-lai-612

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