“I have been breathing improperly basically my entire life,” said Danica Sommer.
Sommer is recovering from a car accident. She’s been seeing a physiotherapist who she said opened her eyes to a common habit that causes physical harm.
“From a young age, a lot of people suck in their stomachs… this is to create a certain aesthetic. What that does is it actually creates a girdle affect on your transverse abdominal, and this weakens your diaphragm,” said Sommer. “This creates improper blood flow to the brain. It makes you more vulnerable to injury.”
Sommer said this habit has also created problems for her while healing from her car accident.
Sommer is a brand ambassador for ME Photo, a local boudoir photography company. She and owner, Megs Elemans connected on the topic, and have started a photography series titled “For The Belly”.
“This is an avenue for you to explore what it feels like for you to just let yourself exist exactly as your body exists,” said Elemans. “We’re trying to see how your body drapes and hangs and all the different ways bellies can be shaped.”
Elemans said the project has gained lots of interest, with models like Brianna Rogers and Alexi Skretting wanting to take part.
Skretting lives with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). A common symptom of PCOS is weight gain due to higher insulin levels, making it harder for women to lose weight. Skretting said since her teens, she was told women shouldn’t have a belly or stretch marks unless they had experienced pregnancy. Now, she’s hoping to empower others in similar situations.
“My body has carried me through everything that I have had to experience, stretch marks or not,” said Rogers. “So being able to come into a space where my body, my stomach, my belly — everything is accepted as is, and that is to be celebrated, that’s something we don’t get a chance to do, and I think we need to do more of,” said Rogers.
So far, 30models have posed for the project. Reels are being posted on the @__MEPhoto Instagram page. Elemans and Sommer hope to create a book and full exhibit in the future.
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