Body Acceptance Week is Oct. 23-27, which makes this a good time to consider new research by Christy Greenleaf, professor of kinesiology and co-director of the Body Image Research Lab at the Zilber College of Public Health at UW-Milwaukee.
The pilot research offers a different way to think about the relationship between physical activity and our bodies: focusing less on how the body looks and more on how it feels, functions and allows us to experience the world.
The work explores embodiment during physical activity — the experience of being aware of and connected to the body from the inside rather than viewing it primarily in terms of appearance, weight or performance.
Read more about the research, including student participants’ descriptions of being present in their bodies and appreciating what their bodies allowed them to do, in a story on the website of UWM’s Zilber College of Public Health.
