“If your body could talk right now, what do you think it would say?”
“I think it would say thank you. Thank you for trying to be balanced every single day. I am definitely not perfect, but I try every single day and I listen every single day.” Siobhan answered.
Self-love is such an important topic worth our full attention. Siobhan Dumigan (@siobhandumigan) is a Yoga teacher, Pilates teacher, movement teacher, personal training instructor, dancer, choreographer and Lomi-Lomi masseuse— as a multi-talented woman living in Hong Kong, Siobhan has undoubtedly experienced difficulties in finding her identity in her self-love journey.
Our interview with her thoughts on how to turn her negative self-talk into a positive one to become a better person to her own self and the Mother Earth.
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: I am a Yoga teacher, Pilates teacher, movement teacher, personal training instructor, dancer, choreographer and Lomi-Lomi masseuse.
Q: What does body positivity mean to you?
A: Body positivity to me means body empowerment and self-love. We’re not really taught these things. It’s better now, I’m really grateful that I’ve learned these as I become older and that more women are going to be learning these things at a younger age. There is definitely some negative self-talk when I was growing up as a kid to myself about the way my body looks because I was in ballet, and I was a bigger person than most of the ballerinas. It took a lot of energy away from myself and it’s all about empowering and giving the power back to be yourself. I think that comes from self-love, that is the first step before you move into other things in body empowerment and body positivity.
Q: Have you ever been told that your body is not perfect? How did you feel?
A: Well you feel completely helpless because your body is your body. Now I definitely know how to not to block these things but more so understand that person is uneducated and made that comment. I am going to stand up for myself and say what is needed to be said in that situation. It is definitely not a nice thing to hear in any situation.
Q: Why should we educate people about body enhancing apparel?
A: People should feel good. When people feel good about themselves, they look good, and when you feel good you also treat other nicer. The other day someone asked me if you could change something about the world what would it be, and I said that the first thing I would do is to make sure everyone love themselves truly because you cannot love someone else or be kind to someone else until you are truly loving and kind to yourself. The people who give the most hate have the most hatred to themselves. If everybody loves themselves, they would also radiate and show that to everyone else, so it would be a much different world if everybody loves themselves.
Q: Can you share some of your special ways to take good care of your body?
A: Sure, number one is to listen to your body. I think self-care is so important when it comes to a routine at the end of the day, taking a shower and just moisturizing your body and saying thank you to every little part of your body you touch. Gratitude is such an important law of attraction when you are thankful the universe will give you more things to be grateful for. Listen to your body, don’t just blindly eat a bag of chips while doing something else, you don’t even know when you are full. Put beautiful things in your body and on your body, and also around your body and your space. Just remember your physical body is just one aspect of yourself, you need to be looking after your whole body, physical, energetic, mental and emotional, they come as one.
Q: Siobhan, if your body could talk right now, what do you think it would say?
A: I think it would say thank you. Thank you for trying to be balanced every single day. I am definitely not perfect, but I try every single day and I listen every single day.
Gratitude is such an important law of attraction when you are thankful the universe will give you more things to be grateful for. As simple as it sounds, the first step of the way to love yourself is to learn how to listen to your body physically, mentally and emotionally, let yourself be the one who loves you most. As Siobhan said, “if you feel good inside you will look good outside”
You can learn more about Siobhan through her website. To watch other interviews from our “My Body My Story” series, click here.
