“This looks horrible on you.” “If only you looked like her everything would be easier.” “You don’t deserve to eat that.” “You are disgusting and no one will ever love you.” “Your______is too big” “Your ______is too small.” These hurtful words are self-inflicted every day multiple times for many girls and women in the world. Knowing this and experiencing body image first hand breaks our hearts and the best thing we can do is talk about it.
5 Ways To Make Peace With Your Body Today (*spoiler alert, it’s something most of us have to choose to do every day):
- Give it gratitude no matter how you are actually feeling about it. MANTRA (we use this regularly…sometimes even when we are sick or feel uncomfortable with any part of our body): “Thank you for this amazing healthy body that lets me do things that bring me joy and things that show me my strength.”
- Get honest with yourself and try to find the root of what is upsetting you. Often when we have a negative thought about ourselves, it’s stemming from something else we are upset about and your body becomes the punching bag (maybe it’s stress, feeling lonely, feeling hurt, unmotivated, irritable, etc.). Get to the root of it and detach it from your physical appearance.
- Find things that make you feel strong. Continue to find things that make you feel strong in your body. One of the best feelings is feeling good in your skin. Strong doesn’t always mean biceps-clenched strong, sometimes strong means joyful, happy, confident, sexy, or at home. When you look at your body as a vehicle to your life and use feeling strong as your compass, it will lead you great things and people.
- Consume things that make you feel good. Consumption on all levels: what you are feeding your body, what you are exposing yourself to in media, who you are surrounding yourself with, etc. Feed your body delicious nourishing foods that feel good in your body, hydrate the heck out of it because our body is made of 60% water, speak kindly to it–even if you have parts you are still learning to love. Think about how the things you consume effect you. Dress it, move it, love it because it’s yours.
- Talk and read about it through all the chapters of life. As women, our bodies change in so many ways during our life time. As teens, puberty is a weird and beautiful and we really can’t describe it any other way. Pregnancy and postpartum have so many new experiences that can feel out of control. Infertility can create a true frustration with your body. Aging and menopause feel like uncharted territories. Talk and read about how you feel and whatever stage you are going through. The more you talk and share about it, the more you remove from the negative power of your body to feeling empowered in your body.
You LIVE HERE. THAT is beautiful. Your body is literally what takes you through life. When was the last time you thanked your body? It’s your forever home give it some LOVE sis.