All Articles by truth

Theresa Ruth Howard Dancer/Writer/Teacher Theresa Ruth Howard began her professional dance career with the Philadelphia Civic Ballet Company at the age of twelve. Later she joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem where she had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Africa. She has worked with choreographer Donald Byrd as a soloist in his staging of New York City Opera's Carmina Burana, his critically acclaimed Harlem Nutcracker, as well as the controversial domestic violence work The Beast. She was invited to be a guest artist with Complexions: A Concept in their 10th anniversary season. In 2004 she became a founding member of Armitage Gone! Dance. As a writer Ms. Howard has contributed to Russell Simmons’ One World magazine (art), and The Source (social politics), as well as Pointe and Dance Magazine. While teaching in Italy for the International Dance Association she was asked to become a contributor for the premiere Italian dance magazine Expressions. Her engaging, no nonsense writing style caught the eye of both the readers of Dance Magazine and its Editor in Chief who not only made her a contributing editor and has collaborated with Ms. Howard in See and Say Web-reviews. Her articles about body image prompted her to develop a workshop for young adult (dancers and non-dancers) My Body My Image that addresses their perceptions both positive and negative about their bodies and endeavoring to bring them closer to a place of Acceptance and Appreciation. She recently launched a blog by the same name to reach a broader audience (mybodymyimage.com) As a teacher Ms. Howard has been an Artist in Residence at Hollins University in and New Haven University in addition to teaching at Sarah Lawrence College, Marymount, Shenandoah, and Radford Universities, and the historical American Dance Festival. As a result of her work at ADF Ms. Howard was invited to Sochi, Russia to adjudicate the arts competition Expectations of Europe and teach master classes, and in Burundi, Africa where she coached and taught the Burundi Dance Company. Currently she on faculty at The Ailey School but also extensively throughout Italy and Canada. Ms. Howard's belief in the development, and nurturing of children lead her to work with at risk youth. At the Jacob Riis Settlement House in Queensbridge New York, she founded S.I.S.T.A (Socially Intelligent Sisters Taking Action) a mentoring program for teen-age girls where she worked to empower them to become the creators of their destinies. In addition she developed a dance program, which lead to an exchange with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Through her teaching and travels Ms. Howard began to observe a universal disenchantment and disconnection in teenagers that disturbed her, thus she set out to address it. Combining her philosophies of life and teaching, with the skills she garnered through outreach programs with diverse communities, she developed the personal development workshop Principles of Engagement: Connecting Youth to the Infinite Possibilities Within which gives teens a set of workable tools to increase their levels of success at tasks, and goals not only in dance, and all aspect of their lives. Theresa Ruth Howard is certainly diverse and multifaceted as an artist, and is moved to both write and create work; however she sees every student she encounters as a work in progress, and the potential to change the world one person at a time. The only was to make this world a better place it to be better people in it!

853 Articles
In Your Words, Uncategorized

Meet My Body My Image’s Summer Intern Makeda Roney!!


Makeda N’wabonkozi Margurose Roney
Last summer I was sweating it out in Bikram (yoga Harlem Holla) and every day that I was there, so was this little Chocolate nugget. I could tell by her comportment that she was dancer, there was a discipline in her practice that I recognized, it was that certain thing that dancers acquire from years in the dance studio and preparing for recitals, learning how dance in lines and patterns. It is an ability to mentally and physically focused, as well as listen and move at the same time. She had the markings. I watched her for a long time before I approached her. I asked her if she would like to participate in a interview about Bikram yoga. I told her that I was interested in her perspective because she was so young, dedicated (she practiced at least 5 times a week) and disciplined. She said yes.

Later she auditioned for the Ailey School’s Junior Division and was awarded a Fellowship, it was then that she became my student. When she took her first Pointe classes with me I was not surprised that her work ethic and focus in the dance studio, as it echoed that of her yoga practice. Unfortunately before Spring term’s end Makeda suffered an injury, she was unable to complete the semester and could not perform. She was unsure if she would be recovered enough to participate in the Ailey School Summer intensive (which is intense) and that is when I thought to ask her to work with me on the blog.

I had come to know her as a deeply thoughtful, and inquisitive young woman with an opinion and a point of view. I applauded the support she lent her fellow dancers when in crisis, and was awed at her self confidence and possession in taking a leadership role amongst her peers when she was essentially the “New Girl”. The duality of our relationship allowed me to have interesting, and sophisticated conversations with her about art, dance, technique, teaching skills, friendship, and of course the body. She was perfect for the position. Thankfully, she is healthy enough to dance this summer but, as driven as she is, she as taken on the internship as well. I am so excited to be working with her!

Makeda with be creating her own posts on MBMI so when you see MR and the foot of a post it was her idea her voice and perspective. She will also be contributing a weekly column to In Your Words I can ‘t wait to hear what she has to say!!

There is an interesting duality to our relationship as I met her in a social setting and only after became her teacher.

Dance Studio, In Your Words, Uncategorized

Shedding: Is your stress induced weight loss trying to tell you something?

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Contributing writer Jessica Danser- Shwartz shares her personal story of how when life gets to stressful the weight start to come off. Sounds like a problem you wish you could have? Wait just one second, when you can’t eat because of worry, stress, grief, or heartbreak those first few pounds might be seem like an inconspicuous benefit, but when you are melancholy, lethargic, and not feeling well because your body is not feed well the way you look is not so important. When the weight loss becomes too significant and you start to look sickly being thin it can make you more worried. Jessica asks the questions why is this happening? and what can she do?

I emerge from the dressing room holding a cute little vintage strapless gown, dejected. “Does it fit?” the salesgirl asks pleasantly. “Too big,” I reply. “Story of my life lately.” “Well,” she jokes, “look on the bright side, you could have the opposite problem!”

There is a part of me which glows at this comment, a part of me which loves being the littlest, the leanest, the thinnest I have ever been. I think this body image comes from my background in ballet– I don’t read fashion mags or follow celebrities, and most of the women I most admire and find beautiful are big-boned, thick, muscular women of color. Yet there still is something validating about my seemingly endless weight loss, like I’ve uncovered a secret that other women would kill for, started to do effortlessly what others ceaselessly struggle to achieve.


Here’s the catch: what is making me lose weight is not some fabulous regimen of diet and exercise or some strange genetic mutation– I’ve lost over 10 lbs (a lot for a person as small as I was to begin with) in the past 4 or 5 months due to stress. I am the opposite of a stress eater, numbing my pain with Cheetos and chocolate. Negative emotions such as anxiety, sadness, frustration, and anger kill my appetite, and at times seem to also speed up my metabolism so that whatever I AM eating goes straight through me. This then becomes a vicious cycle wherein my low blood sugar and lack of energy due to not getting enough nutrition to get through the day make me irritable, irrational, and teary. But when I sit down in front of a plate of food my stomach ties up in knots so I can’t get down more than a few mouthfuls.

Even as I secretly preen a little when people comment on my weight, hearing a friend who is giving me a Pilates lesson comment that I am so thin she feels guilty giving me an exercise class is disturbing. I want to break this cycle, get back up to a size 2, stop being able to see the bones in my sternum and having knees so bony they are constantly covered in bruises. I want to stop looking like I’m a kid wearing my mom’s clothes. I want to have a butt again. But how do I make myself eat when I feel too stressed to, make myself cook when I feel too tired to, make myself have real meals instead of munching on fruit and nuts all day when I don’t feel hungry???

My friend Theresa Ruth Howard, who writes the blog My Body My Image about female/dancer body image, says this: “The body is an organism that reacts and response to internal and external situations. Your body is direct reflection of your life circumstances, and right now it is stressful and shedding in a way. I don’t know that you can ‘do’ much about that. You are eating as well and as healthily as you can, when you can but it seems like you might just have to wait for this period to pass. I make the association to your weight loss as a letting go – you in your life might need to let go and surrender. Your body will be restored when your life comes back into balance again. Worrying about it will certainly not help.”

I don’t have a great answer as to what to do about this problem, and as I write this I am hoping that the stresses I have been experiencing will start to die down so I can start to resume a more normal life, eating regimen, and weight. But one thought has occurred to me. As I accept my 103 lb body and its reduced energy level, I am going to try to look at eating as an activity to nurture and care for myself, and make it a priority to take time several times a day to stop what I am doing and feed myself. Rather than trying to force myself to overeat to gain back the pounds I’ve shed, I am going to look at eating the same way I might look at attending a yoga class or getting a massage, a gift to myself and a reminder that I, and my well-being, matter and deserve my attention and care.

I’m going to ignore the subversive voices in my head telling me that my stress-related thinness is a good thing, ignore the opposing voices telling me I no longer look good with fewer curves, and remind myself that my body is a vessel and an instrument– for my art, for my health, and for my soul. And I’m going to try to get back to the JOY of eating, not just the physical necessity, and remind myself that enjoying food, even when there are other things to focus on which seem more pressing, is my right as a human being.

Theresa’s suggestion I might be in the process of shedding things is admittedly a bit terrifying to me– as a person with strong attachments and a bit of a controlling streak, letting go is not my favorite activity. But perhaps what I am beginning to let go of here is the part of me which allows outside circumstances to get me so upset that I neglect my own health and happiness. It seems to me that this is a common occurrence in women– this tendency to focus so much on something external, whether the needs of others or the standards of society, that we cease to listen to the inner voices which alone can guide us to our best selves. It is this powerful voice within me I plan to listen for at my next meal.

Uncategorized

Is 6 years old too young to be worried about getting FAT?-Video

ABC News and Good Morning America filed a report about a little girl from Houston who is concerned that her tummy is too fat, and wants to lose weight, she has also been teased by schoolmates about her tummy. Clearly this causes concern with her parents,especially since as per her pediatrician is well with in the normal weight and height for her age. Taylor is not alone. More and more little girls are overly aware of their weight. Aware is one thing worried is another thing.

And just where do you think that they are getting these ideas? hummmm now let me think for a sec….Where o where could it be?

Watch your Words
Mother’s watch your tongues, teacher’s watch your words, Aunties and sisters take a moment to think about what you say when children are in earshot. When we talk about our bodies and what we don’t like about them, when we talk about gain weight, losing it, or dieting children hear that. Daddies and uncles talking about who is “hot” or talking about women’s body parts in front of daughters and sons resonate, and are remembered. When we make an off handed comment about other women being, fat, skinny, or ugly children are observing and learning. We as the adults inform them, children hold no judgements of their own, it’s not until they hear the we talk or react to things that they then learn the way they are supposed to think of things and how they are supposed to feel. That’s why it is so important for us as adults to get ourselves together, to get our heads together, because our children must be lead. You know the biblical phrase “The sins of the Father shall be visited upon the son” well our issues get passed on to our children, either they adopt them or they repudiate becoming the mirror opposite.

Another interesting thing that we have to look at, and deal with is the lack of balance we experience in this country surrounding weight and food. On one had we have the issue childhood obesity which our First Lady’s Let’s Move is working to address, and on the other we have young girls worried about being, or getting fat. Both ends of the spectrum stem from an unhealthy relationship to food, and body image. When children as young as 3 are being effected it should tell us adults that we have to pull it together.

Dance Studio, Donnish Delights, Guilty (but forgivable) Pleasures, Habitat for YOUR Humanity, In the News on the Web, In Your Words, The T'ruth in Print, Uncategorized

Would you like to contribute to My Body My Image?

Every one has a body story, if you would like to share yours just email your submission to theresaruthhoward@mybodymyimage.com and join the discussion!

I want to hear your body issues and how you deal with them
What bugs you about how the media portrays the female image?
What do you think about the fashion industry and the female form?
Have you discovered a way to accept appreciate, and respect your body? well share your tool with others!

It’s all In Your Words!

In the News on the Web, Uncategorized

Heidi Montag: Still an example of Exactly what NOT to DO!!!

hosted by Fitperez:
Former Hills Reality Star Heidi Montag reveals:

“I’ve been working out from, like, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. for two months now. I’ve been working out really hard because I had this pool party and I was like, I have to be in shape. And I was actually a lot overweight. It was the most I’ve ever been because I’ve kind of been in hiding eating pie with my husband and puppies, so I needed to get back in shape.”

Wait, is that even possible?

Montag says she worked out 14 hours a day in order to get in shape for a pool party. Apparently she had put on a considerable amount of weight she had gotten to 130 pounds and is now 103.

First of all we know that she is not the sharpest tool in the shed and clearly has body image issues considering that she had 10 plastic surgery procedures all at once just a few years ago which rendered her almost unrecognizable.

I mean if her husband Spencer was not glued to her side we would have had no idea it was her! She later admitted that she regretted the surgery. She dropped of the scene for a while and then emerged once on the Tyra Show where she was noticeably fuller. We all know that Heidi one half of Speidi is all about shock so this could be about getting press, but either way it’s ridiculous, unhealthy, and unsustainable.
This is exactly what not to do ladies and gents take note!!!

Perhaps she should have a sit down with Zooey Deschanel!!! or better yet she could find something better to so with her time, something that might actually help others or better yet help herself…Just sayin!

Uncategorized

Zooey Deschanel ‘doesn’t work out to be skinny’


I love “inde” girl Zooey Deschanel, not only does she have the cutest sense of style but her dry demeanor and dead pan countenance gets me every time. She is beautiful but not typical, by Hollywood’s casting she is the “Other” girl not the blonde beautiful girl, or the bombshell rather the dark haired sidekick with the sense of humor. I came to really like her when she did 500 days of Summer, but what really makes me a fan is what she says about being “thin”. In an interview with Self Magazine she was asked about her concept of working out to be- or stay skinny here’s what she said:

“That’s so boring, and it seems like a depressing goal for a modern woman,” Deschanel said. “I work out to be healthy and because I like it.”

That’s the idea, modern women are so much more than our bodies!!!. If you workout and take care of yourself because it makes you feel good then you might actually feel better about yourself regardless of what you look like in that moment. I think that sometimes we are so concerned about the “pay off” or the “end game” that we don’t experience, let alone enjoy the process, and the t’ruth is – everything is about the process. Life is about the process. When we have a goal, be it a body goal, or a career goal when we reach it, it’s done! (then we have to set another one) but the moment of arriving at the goal is just that a moment. Think about it you spend 4 years in high school and the graduation is all of and hour and a half, you flip that tassel and it’s done! If you spent the 4 years thinking about that moment when it comes and passes it tends to be anticlimactic. Do the things that you love and love the things that you do!
Check out 3 Pearls!

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Mommyrexia?

AND THIS is why I have always detested the focus put on celebrity new mothers’ “post baby” bodies. I found this post on FitPerez last week. about the trend of Hollywood and celebrity women working to stay “thin” or as thin as possible during their pregnancies. where I think there might be something to this, let’s take the “amount of weight” out out it and just look at the mentality behind either the lack of weight gain – or the rapid weight loss after. I think if their is a focus on staying thin- or as thin as possible during pregnancy then there is a problem, if it’s about eating well and staying fit which results in not over gaining then it makes sense. It could be that the media puts too much focus on what pregnant women look like after giving birth that has given the obsession to bonce back within days a boost. If I see one more post about someone revealing her “post baby body” I’m going to flip. It should always be about the health of baby and mother! We know that as a society we have gone too far with this weight and body obsession when women who are having babies but their appearance before their health and the health of their child. Now we cannot for certain say that this is what is happening, it only looks like it might be what is taking place as we see photos of mothers to be with yoga mats and heading to the gym. This in and of itself is not a bad thing, there is no reason (unless the doctor forbids it) that expectant mothers should not keep exercising there have been numerous women at my Bikram Harlem Yoga studio (holla) who have practiced throughout their pregnancies, however for me it is the rapid post baby weight loss that has me wondering. Granted the women we are talking about have the resources to have chefs, trainers, and nannies at their disposal to help them carve out the time between feeding and diaper changes to get their workouts in and eat well so it is quite possible that they are going about “bouncing back” in the right way. My chief concern is that everyday women will feel the pressure of being super MILF and try to emulate these women in an unhealthy way or feel bad about themselves because they can’t drop the weight in a month. Health before Svelte!

From FitPerez:
Stars like Victoria Beckham and Bethenny Frankel are prototypes of women who gained very little during pregnancy with the intention of losing it quickly, and that worries experts.

Said Manhattan dietitian Lisa Cohn:

“Beckham’s in her eighth month now, and looking too thin continues to be part of [her] plan – healthy or not. She hasn’t been looking as vibrant – pale face, dull eyes and more drained. If her extreme post-baby weight-loss plan of shedding 20lb in a short period is true, it sends a dangerous message to other women out there.”
Everyone jumped on Natural Food Chef and reality star Bethenny Frankel when she dropped whatever weight she gained during her pregnancy but she explained that she never diets (it is the premise of her philosophy) but eats healthily all the time and while pregnant she worked out, then delivered early and had a few days post delivery where she couldn’t eat hence she lost the bulk of the 30 pounds she gained right after –plausible (at least I think)

Victoria Beckham has herself admitted to really working to be and stay this thin, so I can see her maybe having issues with gaining “too” much weight in pregnancy. She is pregnant presently and is like 6 months along and you can barely tell, she worries me a bit…

Gisele Bunchen might have naturally hit the gene jackpot not only as a model but as a breeder, she looks like the type who would have the basketball belly and never gain an ounce anywhere else on her during pregnancy so I can believe that this is sort of natural and even being as thin as she has always been (let’s assume that that is genetic) she has always worked out.

people went crazy when Bethenny Frankel had her baby and looked like she had never been pregnant weeks after but Heidi Klum preceded her in the amazing baby weight loss feat when she had her first son with seal and then weeks after walked the Victoria Secret Runway in a bra ans panties. I think this is what really upped the ante.


Now Playboy model Kendra Wilkinson was a woman women could relate to after pregnancy. She put on a great deal of weight, plus she’s a tiny girl, and it took a year or so to take it off. Actually her intense Dancing with the Stars regime recently took off the rest. Here’s the thing, we saw on her reality show that she really was not “working” to take off the weight, she loved her sweets, was undisciplined in working out, and was like “Hey I have a booty now!” Where she did bemoan her fuller body there was a reality to the fact that her life and priorities had changed and she took her time, and got there eventually. And you know what, that’s ok too.Padma Lakshmi was another new mother who took her time taking off the weight, when she returned to Top Chef after giving birth she was fuller, and everyone understood why- she had a baby and that’s what happened. What’s interesting about her is that she is very comfortable with her body in general, she has mentioned that because she works on a food show and has to really eat, her weight fluctuates when she shoots, so she has several sizes of clothing in her Top Chef wardrobe and is cool with that.
what do you think on this subject?
Check out the fit perez here

Uncategorized

Absence might make the heart grow fonder but it also makes the Body Images Issues Grow Larger

Helen Mirren (62)

I thought that this was an interesting since Premier Model Management founder Carole White just came out publicly admitting that Milan and Paris don’t want Black models (ok so what else did you discover Columbus?) she says :
the problem stems from the influential fashion capitals of Milan and Paris.
‘There, they absolutely don’t want black girls. A black model has to be a real star before you can take her there. They only take a black girl when the biz is buzzing about her.’
This is not actually “news” when you don’t see something repeatedly, you kind of get the hint that it is not desired. The effect is a literal erasure, when you watch the shows it’s like Black women don’t exist at all. This is why I am ethically at odds with the fashion industry- I have to wear clothes but it is an industry that does not recognize or acknowledg­e me. My philosophy is not to support anything that does not support me so…
Wendy Williams (46)
When I saw this article about Young Models On Magazine Covers Affects Older Women’s Body Image I thought wow if older women not seeing themselves on magazine covers is messing with their heads and giving them exacerbating body image issues then what must black women who are one of the lowest races on the fashion totem feeling? What about Asians or other “Minorities” that never get to walk or get a cover?

Here is what the study found:

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer

A new study finds that this absence of older women isn’t limited to Vogue, or even to magazine covers: An analysis of editorial and advertising images reveals that despite proportions of older readers ranging as high as 23 percent, fashion magazines portray women over 40 sparingly, if at all. Even in magazines geared toward aging baby boomers, the images collectively present a thin, youthful, wrinkle-free ideal that’s impossible to maintain later in life. Now experts are saying the ideal threatens to cause older women to abandon their sexuality.
“It does lead to problems of negative body image,” said study author Denise Lewis, a gerontologist at the University of Georgia who reported the results in April in the Journal of Aging Studies. “It leads to issues that have people denying aging, so going to great lengths to continue to look like that ideal of a youthful person.”
Read complete article here

Uncategorized

Work it Kristie! You Look Amazing


I don’t know why I feel so happy about seeing Kristie Alley and her post Dancing with the Stars body. I suppose it’s because her struggle with her weight and the emotional toll that it has taken on her has been so documented, and the tabloids have been so hateful and mean to her over the years that I think that I have personalized it. So when I see a picture of her looking happy, and not hiding her face because she knows that the photos the going to be on some gossip rag, or blog with a disparaging subtext I get excited. She looks great and it show that she feels confident and that sassy personality is coming through her body language and her styling! Kirstie stay happy stay healthy stay sassy!!!

Habitat for YOUR Humanity, Uncategorized

Body Image Perception: Learning To Love The Body You Have Now

Susan Liddy, M.A., PCC, CPCC
Hosted by Huffington Post
The human body is an utterly amazing creation. Even a basic consideration of its functions boggles the mind. Neurons connect to the nervous system, the nervous system connects our muscles and hair-trigger messaging occurs at lightening speed. Every component is composed of microscopic cells, tiny self-regenerating entities numbering in the trillions. Yet, somehow it all comes together, each intricate system functioning in a harmonious symphony conducted masterfully by the brain.

This exquisite miracle of biology makes it possible for us to move around in the world and to experience it with all of our senses. It is the foundation of our very being. Shouldn’t it be easy to sit back and simply appreciate our bodies for all they are and all they do for us?

Not so according to recent studies. When participants were asked to what degree they love their bodies, results consistently show that the majority of women harbor a negative body image perception.

Body image perception is often measured by assessing the difference between how a person thinks she appears and her ideal image of how she thinks she should look. For much of the female population, what they see and what they want to see is vastly different.

A 2011 research study of British women, conducted by the University of West England, found that 30 percent of women would give up a year of their lives if they could achieve their ideal body weight and shape. Those findings are reminiscent of another study last year in the U.S., which found that about half of women polled would prefer forgo sex for the summer rather than gain 10 pounds. Similarly, a 1997 Psychology Today survey found that 56 percent of women were unhappy with their body image and would go to great lengths to change their appearance. Female body image perception does not appear to have improved over the past decade.

Why is it so hard for women to love their bodies?

As an increasing amount of documents testify, women are sexualized from a very young age. Abercrombie & Fitch’s clothing line is a prime example of this. The clothing giant recently made headlines when it released a two-piece bikini for 7-year-old girls with push-up cups in the top.

The female body is also routinely portrayed as a product and a commodity through advertising. Images of women are routinely used to sell seemingly unrelated products such as automobiles, men’s cologne and destination vacations.

Furthering the idea that the organic female body is not beautiful in and of itself, we are constantly surrounded by airbrushed images of female “perfection” in the form of roadside billboards, magazines at the checkout stands, television programs and internet ads. Everywhere we look, we are bombarded by suggestions that we are not beautiful, that we do not measure up and that we need to be more beautiful in order to live happy lives, have successful careers — and most importantly — attract a suitable mate (lest we die a lonely, frumpy, old, cat lady).

A 2007 report by the American Psychological Association found that this culture-wide sexualization of women contributes to an epidemic of negative body image perception. The constant stream of unhealthy messages about beauty, happiness and success affect women deeply — even on a subconscious level.

It IS possible to love your body as is.

As pervasive and insidious as it is, you can fly in the face of societal programming. Improving one’s own body image perception is a process that occurs over time and requires shifting the way in which you define beauty and your own self-worth.

Key to making the shift to a positive body image perception is becoming acutely aware of the hidden messages about beauty that surround you. Recognizing the impact of these images and observing thought processes that lead you towards beliefs that undermine your self-love is an excellent place to start. Here’s how:

1.) Notice when women are being portrayed sexually to sell a product and notice airbrushed images that do not accurately portray the female form. Recognize the beliefs that you conjure up from these images about your own beauty.

2.) Question what you are looking at and the hidden intentions behind what you see. Oftentimes media images are intended to manipulate you into believing that you are not good enough so that you will then purchase a product.

3.) Form your own opinion about what it is to be beautiful. Include all of your amazing female
qualities in your definition. Connect with the exquisiteness of your body and appreciate the joy,
pleasure and life that it brings to you each day.
Continue after the jump