It was such an incredible weekend with Taryn Brumfitt. I don’t know who was more excited, us or Taryn. We had 127 attendees.
Taryn was by far one of the greatest speakers because she made the time to sit and talk with everyone in the room. She knew alum by name and connected with them. She took selfies/photos with everyone. Friday was the dinner with alum as Taryn met with the professionals. After dinner we showed the documentary Embrace. Saturday morning she shared her personal story to create trust before moving into the workshops. After lunch, we spent 3 hours of body image workshops and her finale was having EVERYONE up dancing. I have never seen so many smiles, tears and laughter. (I have it on video). Sunday we opened up the floor for the alum to give back to Taryn. They shared with her what they learned and how they are going to apply it to their lives. Not a dry eye in the house.
Taryn’s workshop included topics on:
- Why do we hate our bodies?
- Photoshopping (spot the difference)
- Inequality in ad campaigns
- Advertising with no morals
- Role models
- Social Media, who to follow and unfollow. “Take out your phones.”
- Self-Care and Sparkle (Self-Care vs Sparkle activity. Sparkle activity is any activity that gives you a rush, a thrill, goosebumps, has you laughing until you almost wet your pants.)
- Final Breath activity. “Close your eyes, fast forward to your final days on earth, what is it you are thinking about? What thoughts are going through your mind? What memories come flashing up to you? I bet no one’s memories were of their bum, thighs or stretch marks! That’s because the reality is those things don’t matter. And for the longest time, we’ve let those things define us. We’ve spent more time hating our bodies than loving them!”
- Change and Accept list. Group discussion on what part of your body consumes your time that you talk about the most. Could we move it to the “accept” side of the list and throw no more energy its’ way?
- Change your language.
- Label your body.
- #Grateful #Gratitude
- Finale…Shall we dance or meditate? Yep, we shall DANCE!
Taryn and I met afterwards and she asked questions about Eating Disorders and how she can support. She asked what she should and should not say, etc. She was kind and very appreciative of Rosewood and the work we do.
Inspiring and life changing. It was a dream come true for me to work alongside her in delivering a strong message.
Thank you, Rosewood!
