Full Reading Group Guide General Reading Group Questions: 1. When was the first time you disliked your body? On page 14, Kimber remembers the first moment she experienced body dissatisfaction as a child. That moment informed her relationship to her body through adulthood. As she writes, I looked fat. I stared at the picture in disbelief. Is that me? I held my breath and refused to exhale. Can you remember the first time you experienced something similar? Or perhaps you remember a more recent experience like this. How did it change your relationship to your body? 2. Have you been at war or at peace with your body? During Kimbers body journey, she often refers to her relationship with her body as a war, even going as far as to imply that the only time she was free of this feeling was when she was sleeping: In my dreams I was not at war with my body (26). Can you relate to such a relationship with your body and to food? Have there been moments when you felt at peace with your body? With eating? Reflect on this. 3. Do you expect yourself to be perfect? Kimber often uses intense imagery to convey what it was like to be inside her mind and body during her anorexic year. She uses language like straitjacket of perfection, and describes doing my best to fit into the coffin of expectations (29). Take a moment to consider the roles perfection and expectation have played in your life. Reflect on your relationship to perfection and expectation. 4. How do you talk to yourself? On page 44, Kimber writes about her anorexic mindset in third person. Before she actually names this voice the inner anorexic, she describes, with some distance, the essence of the voice and how it affected her: Accustomed to beatings and humiliation from her tormentor, she had no inner compass, no direction; abuse was all she knew. Think about the ways in which you talk to yourself. Do you say loving things? Are you kind to yourself when you look in the mirror, when you mess up, when youre late, when you eat too much, when you say the wrong thing, when you embarrass yourself? Or can you relate to the abusive voice that Kimber describes here? 5. As her journey continues, Kimber identifies many destructive voices within herself: not just the inner anorexic, but Svetlana, the Russian gymnastics coach, and the inner prison guard, too. Its a while before shes able to notice the healthier voices, like her inner therapist and later, her inner diva. These voices are as present in the narrative as Kimber herself, often arguing and competing for Kimbers attention. If you really pay attention, what kind of dialogue is going on within you? Who is present? Who is competing for your attention? What kinds of things do they say? Do their messages help or hurt you?

New Harbinger Publications Reading Group Guide for Full

For more information about Full and author Kimber Simpkins, visit www.kimberyoga.com.

6. Does your relationship with your body stand in your way? On page 67, Kimber has finally recognized that she needs a healthier voice within the chorus inside her. She creates an imaginary relationship with a therapist and writes to her in her journal: I was just thinking today that the fear of being fat and my overall obsession with my body seems to put a buffer between me and the intensity of my life experiences, my relationships, my enjoyments, and my disappointments. Its an excuse for everything, for my lack of self-esteem, my self-consciousness, and it probably keeps me from facing some truths about myself and from discovering my full potential. What do you think about the idea of ones relationship to their body holding them back from their full potential? Are there ways in which you are held back because of your relationship to your body or to food? 7. What helps you tune in to your body? When Kimber first discovers yoga, she reflects: The key to yoga, I slowly learned, was tuning in to your body, actually listening to it (113). Think about your daily activities. When do you feel most tuned in? Do you have any special practices or activities that help you tune in? 8. As Kimber really dives into her quest to discover what underlies her constant hunger, she writes: Its a longing for something more, a sense that theres something missing, a desire for some kind of intensity which can sometimes be temporarily met with a really good piece of chocolate. Spiritual hunger can feel a little bit like mouth hunger, with a touch of gnarly belly hunger underneath. Sometimes its an ache, a soft, almost desperate emptiness in the center of my heart that calls out to life for an answer. When life doesnt respond, food seems the closest alternative (141). Take a moment to reflect on this passage. What does spiritual hunger mean to you? 9. How do your challenges help you? As part of Kimbers quest, she seeks answers from many sources, including her philosopher friend, Carlos. He offers her the counterintuitive wisdom that perhaps her hunger is her teacher, a positive thing. She writes, So hunger is a good thing? I tried to get my mind around the idea. Instead of thinking of hunger as this terrible thing I have ward off, defeat, or give in to utterly, I could think of it as something thats helping me, encouraging me, reminding me of my desire to understand myself and the world more deeply? (157) Not everyone has the same hunger that Kimber has, but each of us has a unique Achilles heel. Think about your particular challenge. Can you think of ways it has actually helped you or taught you something important? 10. Can you eat out of love? Kimber suggests that eating can be an act of love: Saying yes or no to food not out of obligation, but out of love seemed possible, echoing my new, growing inner voice. I could stop at four cookies out of love for myself (163). Later, on page 231, she comes back to this idea, saying, [e]ating should not be an exercise in self-hatred. What do you think about this notion? If you applied it to your daily activities, how might your day look and feel different?

New Harbinger Publications Reading Group Guide for Full

For more information about Full and author Kimber Simpkins, visit www.kimberyoga.com.

11. Where do your beliefs and actions not match up? The destructive voices are still present despite Kimbers best efforts to quiet them and make room for kinder ones, but it is a constant struggle to believe the compassionate voices, to believe that it is OK to be imperfect. She writes, I know all this in my head. Getting my heart to believe it takes some time (205). What does she mean by this? Can you relate to the experience of understanding something intellectually, but still being unable to change inside? 12. How have your ideas about perfection changed since reading Full? 13. Can you make a list of things you like about the part of your body your struggle with most? On page 224, Kimber makes a Whats Great About My Hips/Thighs/Butt list. She comes up with seven items. Is there an area of your body that could use a list like this one? How many items can you come up with? 14. Still dissatisfied with her hips, butt, and thighs, but trying hard not to revert back to destructive habits or voices, Kimber tries to remedy this lingering dissatisfaction with celebratory activities. She vows to show off a little more, dance more, and let her hips, butt, and thighs have more fun. Learn to hula hoop. Wear skirts (225). This seems counterintuitive, but what if you employed a similar remedy for areas of your body that you were unhappy with, or even areas of your life? Think of a specific area of your body or perhaps an area of your life. What would it look like for you to celebrate your perceived flaws instead of hiding them? 15. How does your body image affect others in your life? Kimber has several moments with her mother in the book that make her reflect on how others negative self-images have affected her. This comes up again as she conducts her first Love Your Body Workshop: What you say about your body and how you treat your body affects the people around you. If you hate your body and treat your body poorly, people sense it. Sometimes they even imitate it, the way children unconsciously mirror their parents (270). Think about who is watching and listening to you. What messages are you sending them? 16. What is the story of your relationship with your body? In Kimbers body love workshop, the participants describe their relationships with their bodies. Each has a different narrative. Some feel anger towards their body; some feel very distant from it, like its an acquaintance they barely know. What is your body narrative? Has it changed as youve read Full? How would you like it to change after you finish the book? 17. At the end of her journey, Kimber does ease her hunger. She writes, my hunger has subsided and a sense of well-being has filled its place (282). Everyones version of well-being is different. What is yours? How have you been inspired to invite more well-being into your life after reading Full?