Today we’d like to introduce you to Marla Mervis-Hartmann.
Marla, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Ever since I can remember, I have had an issue with my body. I was always concerned with what I looked like and did many things to control my weight: over-exercising, under-eating, throwing up, cleansing, and restricting certain ‘bad’ foods. I tried the myriad of choices that a desperate woman has. Nothing I did ever helped my disgust and body shame. I would lament, cry, and ultimately sooth myself with food. I was on a cyclical pattern of restricting, overeating, shaming, and repeat.
Unfortunately, my story isn’t unique; over 90% of women do not like their body and will beat themselves up with food and dieting.
I remember a particularly miserable day. It was a challenging time in my life, my boyfriend had just left me, and my career vanished. I was at the gym. I got on the scale to see that I was the thinnest I had ever been; I was shocked! I was so unhappy despite having reached my ideal weight. It was on that day that my illusion shattered; being thin DID NOT equal being happy! I always thought that once I got this ‘food’ thing figured out and I hit that magic number on the scale that my life would be in order, SO NOT TRUE!!!!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
During my long road to recovery, I have received support in many forms: therapy, 12 Step, meditation, Breath-work, Yoga, Reiki, Tantra, self-help books. All of these techniques were helpful; however, I approached everything backward. My intention was to look better so that I would feel better. I had it completely switched around, and NOTHING got me there. It was when I FINALLY SURRENDERED that I actually started looking and feeling better.
My relationship with my body and food changed drastically when I learned how to listen and trust my body. I began to nourish and care for myself. I listened to my body’s cues for hunger, sleep, and rest and didn’t override it with my own will for weight control. Over time, I listened, loved, and cared for myself from a loving place. I love my body more than I ever have, and I believe it shows.
Did you know that 4 in 5 women are dissatisfied with their appearance? My struggles left me feeling so alone. I didn’t realize how many women struggled just like me. I have found that it doesn’t matter the shape or size of a woman, many of us share this disgust for our bodies.
That’s why I have I created Love Your Body Love Yourself. I will hold my client’s hand and pull them out of the cyclical patterns of dieting, emotional eating, body obsession, and binge eating.
Please tell us about Love Your Body Love Yourself.
Love Your Body Love Yourself is my way to support women to love themselves. Because of my journey, I can bring my understanding and expertise that help women heal. As a Reiki Master, tantra teacher, yoga teacher, massage therapist, and women’s embodied teacher, I bring a lot of modalities to the table when serving my clients. As a coach and a speaker, my passion is helping women find more pleasure and joy in their lives. This can happen by having freedom with food and body confidence. When women stop beating themselves up with food and diets and start accepting themselves, BIG changes can occur.
Every time I work with a client who finds acceptance and love for themselves, my heart leaps for joy.
When clients work with me, we focus on how they can find acceptance and body confidence NOW, not after they lose weight. Love Your Body Love Yourself doesn’t offer diet plans or exercise regimes. The world has enough of that. It is about finding out why a client is emotionally eating or in the diet/binge/purge cycle. Many coaches are trying to fix the problem with the problem. Some of my clients lose weight, but that is secondary to the deeper issues.
When I am speaking to a group of women about Body Confidence, and afterward, a woman shares that she is ready to love and accept herself. I get psyched when a client tells me she looked in the mirror that morning and liked what she saw. Or a client tells me she hasn’t binged in months. These moments let me know that I am doing good work and making a positive change for more body confidence and freedom with food.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wouldn’t have waited so long to accept myself. I would have accepted my body and found freedom with food sooner. I wasted energy, time, and opportunities for joy. That sometimes saddens me. But I know that I wouldn’t be able to share this message as profoundly if I hadn’t rolled around in my own misery. There is another way of living. I know it because I’m FINALLY living it! And now I can teach people how to stop their obsession and create a life that they have always wanted.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LoveYourBodyLoveYourself.com
- Phone: 310-926-9163
- Email: marla@loveyourbodyloveyourself.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/loveyourbodyloveyourselfalways
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/loveyourbodyloveyourself
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/marlamervis
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/healing-at-the-speed-of-love-reiki-massage-healing-santa-monica-2
- Other: https://thepleasureplan.org
Image Credit:
Courtney Lindberg photography, Linda Abbott Photography
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