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Posts by Lesa Ashlea Rankin

Lesa is a lover of cats, yoga, and writing. In recovery from severe depression and an eating disorder, she believes in compassion for all beings. Human connection gives her purpose. She is a yoga teacher and in her spare time loves to walk with friends, mentor youth, and read novels. She lives in suburban Philadelphia with two cats and her loving boyfriend.

How I Started Enjoying My Alone Time Instead of Feeling Lonely

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“The only way we can change the way we feel is by becoming aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going inside ourselves.” ~Bessel A. van der Kolk

Learning to be alone as an adult has been a struggle for me. It’s taken quite a while for me to adjust to spending periods of time by myself. It may sound strange to those who know me because I am most definitely an introvert and need my quiet time. However, my time alone was never quite as satisfying as I’d hoped it would be.

Often my solitude …

How to Replace Body-Hate with Self-Compassion

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“Loving yourself is the greatest revolution.” ~Unknown

I’ve spent most of my life struggling with my weight and trying desperately to fit the idealistic image of beauty that our culture celebrates.

As a young teen, I was obsessed with magazines and all their secrets to be prettier and have a better butt and get your crush to notice you. I see now how desperate I was at such a young age to feel beautiful. Nothing seemed to work, though, as years passed and my need to fit the ideal beauty image only increased.

In high school I learned to skip …