Bio
Blog
Books
Disclosure policy
Newsletter
Press Kit & Photos
Speaker
Welcome
Writing portfolio

Welcome
Bio
Blog
Speaker

Lorraine C. Ladish

Books
Press Kit & Photos
Writing portfolio
Disclosure

midlife reinvention maven

Lorraine C. Ladish

January 12, 2018

cropped-DisruptAging_10_Edited-1.jpg

Category:

← cropped-DisruptAging_10_Edited-1.jpg

As seen on Oprah Magazine

Lorraine C. Ladish on Oprah Magazine

lorrainecladish

Author, mom, wife, yoga teacher, ED survivor🇪🇸🇺🇸 56 yrs old
#Sarasota, FL @theflawedyogini @vivafifty
Agent @JohannaVoss [email protected]

I am WAY more than my body. I was always more tha

I am WAY more than my body.

I was always more than my body when I was a troubled teen and young adult with body dysmorphia, a life-threatening eating disorder and clinical depression that lasted 20 years.

I knew that intellectually, but now that I have another 20 years of recovery under my belt, I know it in my heart and soul.

What has helped the most? Yoga! After three years of daily practice, two years ago now, I knew I wanted to become a certified yoga teacher, and I signed up at @heartwoodyogainstitute . This means five years of showing up on my mat and in life, daily.

I had no practical reason to enroll in yoga teacher training two years ago. I'd been a fitness and dance instructor when I was younger and at 35, I quit and said I didn't want to teach again. I wanted to just learn.

Two years ago now, my abuelita had just passed, several of my friends were battling cancer (eventually three would leave us), and I was facing colon resection surgery because of a severely dysplasic gynormous polyp that was rooted in my colon.

A specialist helped me bypass the surgery through four or five 🥴 colonoscopies where they took care of the precancerous situation without requiring surgery.

And I signed up to study to be a yoga teacher.

I got my 200-hour certification and the inner growth was so phenomenal, I signed up for another 300 hours. I have a 500-hour certification as a yoga teacher, but beyond that, I have experienced and continue to, phenomenal spiritual, emotional and mental growth.

My body still houses reminders of my past ED: scars from self-harm, a missing tooth and numerous cavities (yup ... purging does a number on your mouth), a hiatus hernia also from purging, and esophagitis (now under control).

I also lost a bunch of hair and bone density (that I later recovered) when I was in my early twenties and would black out from low blood pressure when I didn't eat enough.

And still, I am more than a body.

At 56, I finally embrace it all, the inside, the outside, everything.

Please follow @ichoosehelene @simpleand_slique and @msstarmonroe who are also sharing about showing up for yourself fully in midlife and beyond.

Never too late for self ❤️.

Swipe to see @phildiederich , the guy behind the l

Swipe to see @phildiederich , the guy behind the lens. It will soon be 11 years since we first met and gave it a go.

On my YouTube channel, younger people often tell me that their biggest fear around aging is that nobody will love them. Of course I know from experience that is BS but they don´t - not yet.

Phil is not an "IG hubs" - he really is a professional photographer. He was a photojournalist for most of his life, for the likes of NYT, TIME, Life, Newsweek, AP and more.

He lived a life of adventure and was used to even being in dangerous situations to take a photo. Now his biggest danger is with me bossing him around. :-D

We´ve both had to learn how to work together because we make a living with this photographer-model situation. It´s been quite the journey. Later today we have another photo-shoot for three different clients, and it does get easier and faster to go through these without getting upset, lol.

No, really, we fight well, and end up laughing a LOT every time.

It really never is too late to meet the love of your life. I was 46 and he was 45. We both had nothing but a bunch of hope and dreams, and three kids (none in common) that we wanted the best for.

And guess what ... together we are still achieving our dreams, even in the middle of a freaking pandemic. When I tell him how dumbfounded I am about this, he reminds me of all the hard work I´ve put in in the last 11 years, and how I keep showing up no matter what. But ... so does he!

I admire him deeply because he is as relentless as I am, if not more so, in pursuing his writing career, and is reaping the rewards of HIS grit.

When you look at my photos, all of them, or most, know that I´m looking into his lens. He knows about everything I´m posting and supports every bit of it. He believes in me, and I believe in him. And that, is everything.

What are your thoughts about healthy fulfilling relationships in which both parties are equally invested? This has been my first such relationship and I am so grateful for it that my heart could burst. Oh, and the kids are pretty thankful too. :-D

#powercouple #loveofmylife #midlifelovestory

If you´re following my journey towards embracing

If you´re following my journey towards embracing my aging body, there´s more. And this was a super interesting find. It even made me laugh.

So, just a year ago, especially when taking sponsored photos, I would ask my photographer hubs (he really IS a professional photographer), to let me know whether my neck was sagging in the shot, or whether the flab in my arms was visible, and then I would flex to hide it.

When recently I decided that dammit, I was too tired to continue hiding my real aging body, the one I see in the mirror, or while I'm doing yoga in a bikini (swipe to see), I asked hubs to have a photoshoot where I would let it all hang out.

As I was explaining to him what I wanted he said: "I think I get it. You want honest photos." And I burst out laughing. Yup. That´s what I wanted.

So when we took the photos and I then looked through them, I was absolutely floored. I guess I was expecting some kind of horror show. 😂

"Damn, I look like this at nearly 57?" came out of my mouth.

Instead of being all flustered because the skin on my elbows was creased, or because my abdomen didn´t show a six-pack, I told my husband "Wait, there has to be something wrong with the camera, why aren´t all my wrinkles and sag showing more?" So that´s a first, huh. Lol.

And then he explained about the light, the poses, and how he thinks I´m damn hot (thank you hubs), and that of course certain poses are going to bring out different aspects of how a person looks.

Anyhow, this is all being a super interesting and freeing journey. And hey, the shorts I bought 11 years ago and had stopped wearing, are back on, in any and all poses.

And yes, now that I don´t give a crap whether this or that shows, I can see I am so much more relaxed and comfortable in my (sagging) skin. And that it doesn't look that bad to begin with on a daily basis.

"Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change." - Wayne Dyer.

I would love, love love for you all to keep the conversation going. As Shirley McLaine said, "Aging ain´t for sissies." And to my older sisters, trust me I KNOW I´m still young. I do. To my younger ones, yes you CAN love yourself as you age. #edsurvivor

Meet my eye wrinkles. 😂 At 56 I´m making a con

Load More... Follow on Instagram

My websites

The Flawed Yogini

BOOKS:

Tu mejor edad para llevar una vida extraordinaria

REACH! From single mom on foodstamps to digital entrepreneur

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address so you don´t miss out on the good stuff!

Email Address

Bilingual YouTube Channel

Search

Let´s be social!

Categories

Beauty & Style
Blog
Blogging & social media
Creative Entrepreneurship
Empowerment
English
Español
Health & Fitness
Inspiration
Motherhood & Parenting
Travel

Recent posts

After freelancing for almost 40 years, these are my tips
7 Insights to make it as a freelancer or entrepreneur
Handling the end of a gig like a boss
Can you really make a living blogging and creating online content?
8 Basic steps to get started as a content creator

Copyright © 2020 · All Rights Reserved · Lorraine C. Ladish

Luxury Theme by Organic Themes · WordPress Hosting · RSS Feed · Log in

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Instagram

Enter your name and email to receive exclusive content, news & updates!

No te pierdas las últimas novedades, contenido y ofertas exclusivas.

Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.