Meet the Expert: Alsana’s Julia Cassidy on National Love Your Body Day (Oct. 19), How to Practice Body Positivity Every Day

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Love Your Body Day – celebrated annually on the third Wednesday of October – promotes the concept of body positivity and that beauty should not be narrowly defined by unrealistic standards for how someone looks. As Vice President of Clinical Nutrition at Alsana, an eating disorder recovery community, Julia Cassidy has spent her entire career encouraging women and men to celebrate their own special bodies.

“Body positivity focuses on the functionality and health of the human body, not on its physiological appearance,” said Cassidy. “Practicing body positivity involves accepting, respecting, caring for and protecting your body with the appreciation of all the things your body can do for you.”

Body image and self-esteem directly influence one another, which is another reason that practicing body positivity can improve your overall wellbeing.

Cassidy offers four tips for cultivating a positive body image:

1. Accept your genetics; remember that we are all unique. Avoid comparing yourself to others.
2. Set obtainable health-focused goals rather than weight related ones. This is more beneficial for your overall wellbeing.
3. Say positive things to yourself every day. Talk to yourself just as you would a friend or loved one.
4. Follow people on social media who represent body positivity or advocate for body acceptance. Unfollow people or companies on social media who trigger negative body image thoughts and feelings.

On National Love Your Body Day this year, take time for some self-reflection and self-care to appreciate your body and all the things it does for you. For more information, visit the “What is Body Image” blog at alsana.com. Members of the media: To schedule an interview with Julia Cassidy on this topic, contact [e-mail].

About Alsana

Alsana is an eating recovery community and treatment provider with in-person Residential and PHP/IOP programs in Alabama (Birmingham and Huntsville), California (Monterey, Santa Barbara, Westlake Village, and Thousand Oaks), and Missouri (St. Louis), and Virtual PHP/IOP offerings across the United States. Their approach to eating disorder treatment is compassionate, evidence-based, and designed in alignment with the Adaptive Care Model®. This holistic method seeks to address healing in all areas of clients’ lives by integrating medical, nutritional, and therapeutic care with movement and relational therapies. Alsana serves adult clients of all genders and sexual identities struggling with a broad spectrum of eating, feeding, and co-occurring disorders. Alsana’s programs accommodate the unique needs of vegan clients and clients struggling with ED-DMT1, also known as “diabulimia.” For additional information, visit www.alsana.com.