Ways to Love Your Body: 5 Tips

Whether you’re tall, short, lean, curvy or anywhere in between, knowing the ways to love your body is as important to your health as taking good care of it. I know the #BoPo movement (body positivity) is very on-trend right now, and it can feel like a lot — especially with tons of products and events being pushed at you, but the core belief is still true. It’s important to appreciate your body for all the wonderful things it does for you. You are a magnificent being, regardless of what you look like, and your value as a human being does not go up or down depending on your weight, waistline, shape or skin.  

And I want you to know it and own it!

So I’ve put together a few exercises to help you cultivate and maintain a positive body image. P.S. Remember how last week I said we wouldn’t get naked yet?

Well, the time is now! Let’s get naked + love it!

Shift Your Self Talk

It all begins with your thoughts, my friends.  How we speak about our bodies affects how we feel about our bodies, so here are two simple but powerful ways to begin improving your self-talk game.

First, let’s take out the trash (talk). Start by isolating one negative, obsessive thought you have about your body. For example, “My thighs are huge, and everyone can tell when I walk. I’ll never be able to wear a bathing suit.” Now I want you to pretend like you’re on Court TV, and prosecute the hell out of that case. Think of every reason why that negative thought is incorrect.

Then, it’s time to fill your brain with positive messages. I recommend incorporating mantras into your daily routine. These encouraging statements, when recited, will help rewire your thinking through their repetition, essentially replacing a negative thought with a positive one.

Here are a few to try:

I am worthy and more than enough, just as I am.

My reflection does not define my worth.

I am healing – mind, body and soul.

I’m strong. I am beautiful. I’m enough.

My body is a gift.

I love myself unconditionally.

You can learn more about the power of mantras and how to write your own affirmations here.

The Love Rub

I’ve shared this exercise before on the blog, and it’s still my #1 body appreciation exercise. It starts by stripping down to your birthday suit and standing in front of a mirror. (You can do it, no one is looking!) With a soft, warm washcloth, gently massage your body from your feet all the way up to your heart, very similarly to dry brushing. As you’re moving over each body part, tell it how much you love it, even the body parts that aren’t your favorite.

Tell your feet how special they are for how they carry you to new places. Your calves for helping you stand tall and firm. The biceps for helping you lift things and feel strong. Your elbows for letting you embrace friends and give amazing hugs.

Try to connect to every part of your body, whether you think it’s cute or not, to its positive contribution to your life.

Sing It, Sister!

This exercise is similar to The Love Rub, but instead of massage, we’re turning to music. And who better than Miss Nasty herself, the ever-sexy Janet Jackson! For this exercise, you’re going to sing the chorus to the song “What have you done for me lately?” to your body parts. Then you tell that body parts just what awesome things it’s done for you!

Knees, what have you done for me lately? Ooo, ooOoo, Oh yeah – you’ve let me walk my dog and play soccer the other day with my friends.

Hands, what have you done for me lately? Ooo, ooOoo, Oh yeah – I made a kickass dinner last night because of you and your veggie chopping skills.

If You Can’t Love It, Can You Accept It?

This last exercise is for the cynics in the room, anyone rolling their eyes right now at all the gooey self love and thinking, “That’s not happening,” or “I’m too far gone for this.” OK, how about replacing love with simply accepting your body: “You can accept your body whether you love everything about it or not. Thus, a good body image is not predicated on love. It is predicated on living in your skin without obsessing about that skin.”

The goal is to identify the moments when you’re not actively thinking about your body. Maybe that is because there aren’t other people around you, and you feel less self-conscious, or when you just have bigger fish to fry than worrying about how you look.

For me, I’m not thinking about my body when I’m meditating or when I’m making a delicious meal or sipping a hot cup of coffee in the morning. I’m focused on savoring the moment. When you can identify these moments, you can begin to recreate them throughout your day, or even mentally re-create the feelings you experience, to redirect negative thoughts into positive ones.

None of these exercises are a magic pill to self love, but through practice, you can shift how you view your body as well as the bodies of those around you, which makes you a more positive, loving person to be around. It’s an ongoing process, just like life, so keep learning and growing, my friends!

My Challenge for you is to pick one exercise to try out this week, and post it in the comments on my Facebook Page HERE. I want to know how you’re rockin’ your positive body image in 2019!

 

LOVE + Positive BoPo!