Body positivity after enduring traumais no easy task. That’s why HER has teamed up with Clara Wisner ofRevolutionary Lifestyle to create a webinar all about self-love, bodypositivity, and self-care. In this webinar, nutritionist and psychotherapistClara Wisner will be exploring the relationship between physical and emotionaltrauma and negative body image. From disordered eating to body dysmorphia,experiencing trauma is a factor in how we heal and get to a place of foodfreedom and body peace.

I was able to chat with Clara about theupcoming webinar and learn more about her practice Revolutionary Lifestyle.Here’s my interview with her.

HER: What do you hope people take away from this Webinar with We Are HER?
Clara: I want each person to leave the webinar feeling empowered and capable of changing her perspective around her body. I want each person to leave the webinar feeling hopeful, supported, empowered, and supported in her journey toward greater body compassion and food peace.

HER: Amen to that! So how common are body image issues with women/survivors?
C: Along with other challenging and potentially debilitating effects of sexual assault and trauma, comes a high risk for poor body image and disordered eating.
Sexual assault commonly causes the victim to feel powerless, worthless and objectified because their body was used by another to gain domination. Trauma of any kind can create patterns and loops in our minds that cause self-negating behavior.
To cope, some victims focus on controlling their physique, becoming obsessive about dieting or exercise. Others carry the weight of body-shaming thoughts and feelings long-term without acting on them.
And so body image issues are, unfortunately, incredibly common, especially with women/ survivors of trauma.
When we don’t process, express, or talk through our trauma, our psyches will find a way to play out the trauma over and over again, in an effort to heal it, and one of those ways is through thoughts or actions that actually harm our bodies like disordered eating, cruel self-talk, and body dysmorphia.

When we don’t process, express, or talk through our trauma, our psyches will find a way to play out the trauma over and over again, in an effort to heal it, and one of those ways is through thoughts or actions that actually harm our bodies like disordered eating, cruel self-talk, and body dysmorphia.

-Clara Wisner, Revolutionary Lifestyle

HER: What advice would you give someone who is struggling with body image?
C: There is so much advice to give and depending on the person, their history, their tendencies it could be very different. However, I think one thing almost everyone who is struggling with body image issues could benefit from is to start to become more aware of the “voices” in your head. Notice what thoughts go through your head when you look in the mirror. Name them. Watch them. There is so much unconscious self-bashing that simply brining awareness to the thoughts and voices in your head can start to shift them.
Awareness de-conditions.
As you start to become more conscious of your thoughts about yourself you can start to notice what triggers the negative self-talk, once you know the trigger you can get “ahead” of it. Avoiding the trigger or creating a new pattern around it, consciously.
One practice I would give anyone and everyone that will help no matter what is to write a love letter to yourself every day for 14 days. Write it to yourself as if you were someone you loved. See what shifts. See how it changes what you focus on.

HER: How did you decide you wanted to help others through nutrition and psychotherapy?
C: In my early teens, I was involved in a relationship that was physically and sexually abusive.
Because of this and simply living in a society that can be incredibly objectifying to women, I developed severe body dysmorphia, disordered eating patterns, and deep rooted patterns of cruel-self-talk that continued through my early adulthood.
I enrolled in the Nutrition Therapy Institute in Denver, determined to learn “how to take care of myself.”
I practiced strictly nutrition for some years, specializing in helping women balance their hormones with food, supplements, and other natural/holistic means. However, as my own personal healing journey continued, I found a form psychotherapy that opened me up to new levels of integration and healing, and I was called to also bring this modality into my work with clients.

HER: What is psychotherapy?
C: Psychotherapy, generally means the treatment of mental disorder by psychological rather than medical means. There are many forms and modalities and variations of psychotherapy.
The form of psychotherapy I practice is called Voice Dialogue (VD). VD was developed by Jungian psychologists Hal and Sidra Stone. It is based on the concept that our personalities and the problems we face are the result of multiple “selves.” These selves of our psyche result in our seemingly nonsensical behavior. For example, your self that gets up in the morning and goes to the gym is not the same “self” that sits on the couch and binge watches Netflix. Or, your “self” that gets angry at your partner is not the same self that feels compassion for homeless man on the street. VD is a modality that facilitates the exploration of these different aspects of self as it pertains to the patterns or issues you would like to change or unravel.

HER: Tell me more about Revolutionary Lifestyle!
C: Revolutionary lifestyle started because the idea of a lifestyle that stands outside the norm has always lit me up. I have always been rebellious at heart. I think it’s a revolutionary act to love ourselves fully and choose to be ourselves in a world that tells us to dim our light. To believe that the world is an abundant, loving and forgiving place is an act of courage. Revolutionary lifestyle is the revolutionary idea that we can live from a place overflowing instead of overwhelming, when we take care of ourselves FROM a place of love.
I create content (podcast, blogs, social media posts, DIY online programs) for women who are ready to love themselves and ready to be active participant in their own healing. They may not know how. They may not have any idea how that it is even possible, but a part of them KNOWS that they deserve more, and they are ready to follow that part of themselves.

HER: Alright, so how can HER’s community get involved?
C: HER community members are all welcome in my community in any capacity! I share so much free content via my blog, the Love Rising Podcast, my newsletter, or instagram @revolutionarylifestyle.
I also have a couple free meditations people can download.
My Self Love Mastery online course is where I recommend people start if they would like to get deeper into my framework for developing self-love.
I also am passionate about educating about medicinal grade essential oils and people can register for online classes. 

HER: These are some great resources! What can one expect if they want to work with you?
C: All of my work is based on my “four bodies” method of treating disease or dis-ease, as I call it. The physical body, the one we think of as our body, the mental body, our thoughts and reasoning abilities, our emotional body, our feelings, and our spiritual body, the aspect of ourselves involved in purpose and meaning are all integrated aspects of our whole being. I believe that if we nourish all four of these bodies what results is a healthy, happy, whole being. However, when we disregard one of these bodies or focus on one body while ignoring another we create dis-ease in the body.
I also love to explore the concept of “love restriction” vs “hate restriction.” Loving restriction is a good thing. It gives us strength and potency to have healthy boundaries. It makes our lives easier when we have simple parameters about what to do and don’t do, what to and not to eat, etc. Loving restrictions for ourselves are easy and move with the flow. However, when we restrict ourselves from a place of hate restriction feels really heavy. It’s like trying to hold a beach ball under water. You have to HOLD it, and as you push further and further down, as we restrict ourselves more and more, the pressure builds and eventually the beach ball comes bursting up through the water.
One other concept that is central to my work is that the goal is ALWAYS complete and unconditional self-acceptance. However, we are also always improving and growing. As with most TRUE things in life, it is a paradox. But this is what I work with people on to develop complete and unconditional self acceptance, while still striving to grow into a bigger and more conscious form of themselves.

Want to know more? Catch our webinar with Clara on March 5. Save your spot here.