We are not born hating our bodies.
Look at a baby girl that you know, isn’t she just lovely? You were a baby girl once, lovely, delightful, magnificent, gorgeous, with perfect feet and a perfect stomach, with thighs and nose that were just right, with beautiful skin and beautiful eyes. That hasn’t changed. You still have a body that is just as lovely and beautiful, no matter your age, skin color, hair texture, height, weight, wrinkles, gray hair or anything else. Every part of your body is lovely. Every cell in your body is perfect.
I preach body love A LOT! If there is something you want to change like have more energy, lose weight, feel more vibrant, heal from ill-health THE ONLY way to do it is with self love and body love. If you do not like your body why will you take the time and effort to take care of it? And if you love and appreciate your body, why wouldn’t you?
It took years of conditioning to get you to a place of not liking your body so give yourself time to re-learn to love it. It won’t take as long because our inherent nature is to delight in who we are and how we look, we just have to remove the accumulations of the negative messages we got. Loving your body is not a vague idea, there are very practical things you can do to plant seeds of body love and watch them bloom.
1. Go Back To Your Childhood
Think back to a time when you were young and loved being in your body and/or loved looking at your body. Close your eyes and remember how it felt. Spend time in that memory often and remember that you can have that feeling back, all the time.
If you do not have a memory, imagined yourself as a baby girl and look at your little feet, little fingers, soulful eyes, delightful smile. Feel the love for that little girl and direct it at your adult self.
2. List All The things Your Body Does For You
Fill a whole page with all the ways your body serves you every day. Your heart beats. Your lungs breath. Your eyes see. Your legs walk…Thank every part of your body for keeping you alive and functioning.
3. Breathing Practice
Sit down with your eyes closed. Put one hand on your heart and one hand on your stomach. Take a big, slow breath. Notice the inner rhythm and movement of your breath. Take 5-10 slow breaths and just be with your body.
4. Observe Your Self-Talk
Notice, without judgement, how you feel, think and talk about your body. When you “catch” a negative thought just tell it: “You are not mine”, acknowledging that it came from outside of you and not from your inner-self. Replace it with an appreciation for your body.
5. Mirror Exercise
This is a very powerful exercise, modify it to your level of comfort and with time, do more.
Stand in front of a full length mirror or use a face mirror to modify. Look at your body. Do it naked if you’re ready or fully clothed if you’re not. Scan your body from top to bottom. Notice every negative thought or feeling. Gently affirm: “I let you go, I am now ready to love my body.”
6. Wear Clothes You Love
Look at your closet, does everything fit you now? Remove all clothes that are too small/too big. Get rid of all clothes that are worn out, torn, stained or make you feel blah. Wear colors and textures that make you feel fab. Dress for the body you have now, not for the body you wish you had. Treat yourself to a fab new item often.
7. Do What You Love
Do not let how you feel about your body stop you from doing what you love. You deserve to live fully, now. So find an activity you love to do: singing, painting, crafting, reading, writing, dancing and take a class, join a group or invite friends to do it with you.
8. Morning Ritual
When you wake up, thank your body for being alive and thank it for a good night sleep. Think of all the ways your body will function and work for you throughout the day and send it mental appreciations. Promise your body that you will do your best to take care of it and show it love.
9. Evening Ritual
Before you go to sleep thank you body for everything it did for you that day. Thank yourself for every thing you did to take care of your body and release any bad feelings or regrets. Tell your body that you will get better as its caretaker with practice.
10. Be Active Because You Enjoy It
It is important to exercise and play in ways that are fun and nourishing for you. Think of ways that you can move your body that will make you feel alive, strong, powerful, flexible, calm, joyful and sparkly. Weight loss and burning calories are short lived motivations.
11. Stick Post Its On Mirrors
Send yourself positive messages every time you look at your reflection. Write on Post It notes: “I’m Beautiful!”, “I Love Me!”, “My Body Is Magnificent!”, add hearts and smily faces and stick the notes on all your mirrors.
12. Focus On What You Love
Think of one body part you like. Maybe it’s your beautiful eyes, or your luxurious hair or your full and curvy lips. Focus on what you love about your looks. Every time a negative body thought pops up, remind yourself of what you love about your body and know that you can learn to love every part of your body this way.
13. Enjoy Your Food
Don’t eat food you do not like! When you eat food just because it can help you lose weight but you don’t really enjoy it, an overeating episode is not far behind. Learn how to prepare delicious healthy meals. As long as 80% of your food is real, whole and nutrient dense, you can treat yourself to your favorite indulgences, no guilt necessary.
To learn how to embrace a healthier way of eating, sign up to my 7 DAY CLEANSE, it is super gentle and nourishing.
14. Look At How Your Life Will Change
Think about how your life will be different if you really, truly, deeply loved your body and never felt bad about it again. What will be different? What can you do with all the extra time and energy you spend on feeling bad? What will you choose to do? What will you choose not to do? Don’t wait, live as if you love your body now even if it’s still a work in progress.
15. Ditch The Scale
The scale gives you information that can empower you to live better and healthier, don’t give it the power to judge and find you guilty. If weighing yourself weighs you down, break up with your scale. Women can have a healthy and vibrant life at a variety of sizes and shapes, there are so many other measures of health, read about them HERE.
16. Your Body Is A Miracle
Did you know that your skin renews itself every 30 days? That you make a new liver every 6 weeks? That your stomach lining rejuvenates every 4 days? And that your skeleton renews every 3 months? You are constantly creating your body anew with every breath of air, every bite of food, every sip of drink and every thought you think. That means that nothing is ever ruined or doomed and that the possibility of a healed and healthy body is very real. Isn’t that wonderful?
Please let me know what is one way you will love your body, whether it’s from this list or something you can add to it in the comments.
xoxo
Rachel
