in late 2013,  I met an amazing yoga teacher, chloe thorogood. we crossed paths because we were both volunteering at local high schools as part of youth mental health month. Chloe is one of the primary yoga teacher trainers with Byron Yoga Centre, as well as an amazing high school teacher and passionate social activist. we quickly became dear friends, and together created a program to address a shared passion of ours - young women, body image and empowerment. in 2014 chloe and i received a small grant to develop the program into a yoga-based offering for young women.

 

the Befriend your body youth program is designed to create a safe space for young women to explore, challenge and choose their response to societal perceptions around body image. Through this group, these young women will then be equipped to make thoughtful, nourishing,  and self-loving choices for themselves regarding their attitudes and behaviours toward their own body, and those of other women around them.

 

 

participants of the group finish the program with a ‘toolkit’ for loving self-care practices, based on yoga principles, simple breathing techniques, journaling, and creative expression. these practical tools provide participants with a strong foundation, from which they can then live with a clear, personal sense of what it means to befriend their body and themselves.

 

 

Our intention in creating and leading this group, has been to establish a network of informed young women who will co-support each other in positive attitudes to body image. These inspiring young women are then in a position to become positive body image advocates for their peers, thereby seeding a collective change amongst the young women in our community.

 

while this program is aimed at small groups, we are aware that there is a widespread need for programs such as this for young women across Australia. we are in the process of exploring ways to bring this program to as many young women as possible.

 

to enquitre about the program, or If you are able help us bring the befirend your body programs to young women around australia, please contact us. we would love to hear from you.