So here’s the deal--this is your body. It’s the only one you’re ever going to have. You can’t exchange, or return, or undo, or redo anything about the body that you have, right now today. This is it--your body, no tradesies or give-backs.
To some, this is a discouraging statement, because maybe there may be things about your body that you don’t like. To others, you might read this and think “YAS Honey, I love my body!” And if that’s you, rock on with your bad self! And share that love with others, because we all benefit from being inspired by your story!
But if your reaction is more like that first one I described, don’t lose hope. You don’t have to feel bad about your body forever. You can embrace your body as it is and transform the relationship you have with your body.
When it comes to changing the way that you feel about your body, you have two choices: you can continuously toil away with extreme diet and exercise habits to try and change your body itself, which you might already be doing, OR you can shift that energy and start to address how you feel about your body instead.
Now, I’m not saying that you can wave a magic feelings wand, instantly embrace your body as it is, and then spend the rest of your life on the couch, watching Netflix and eating Cheetos--although that sounds like a great way to kick off the weekend.
Changing how you feel about your body is a process that requires a lot of time and energy devoted to how you think, feel, move, and feed when it comes to your body. Those are like the four pillars of body love, and you have to devote energy to all four of them to really arrive at a state of body love and acceptance.
On occasion, this will involve sitting on the couch, watching Netflix, and eating Cheetos--because a girl’s gotta have some down time! But most days, this means figuring out ways to integrate self-care practices into your daily routine that help you reboot old, toxic approaches that you may have grown accustomed to, and prevent you from sliding into any new unhealthy behaviors that might lead to a relapse into feeling bad about your body.
Whether you feel bad about your body today or you are that woman that really feels a strong sense of love and pride in her body, putting energy into the four pillars of body love benefits you. If you already feel amazing about your body, these pillars will strengthen that love that you have for yourself and help you explore some new self-care practices to add into your repertoire. It will be like routine maintenance for all of those body love feelings you already have.
If you feel bad about your body right now, then you will definitely benefit from exploring the four pillars of body love. For you, we are taking the stick of dynamite and going “Ka-blewy!” on all of the ways that you think, feel, move, and feed. These pillars will be the framework that you can use to rebuild your relationship with your body, brick by brick, so that you can form a completely new one based on love, respect, self-care, and empowerment.
This is the only body that you’ll ever have. Don’t stay locked into a relationship of feeling bad about your body. When you do, you are so bogged down by those negative feelings that you are only projecting a tiny fraction of the overall greatness you possess. Staying stuck in this toxic relationship with yourself deprives the world of the unique talents and gifts that you were placed here to share.
Over the next four weeks, I’ll be sharing a series of practical tips and tricks to help you reboot your lifestyle in each of these four pillars of body love. There will be a new download every Friday, and I’ll be broadcasting live via Facebook Live weekly to answer questions and share snippets from my journey with my own body! Together, we’ll use the next four weeks to move away from feeling bad about our bodies and into a state of body love. I’d love it if you’d join us!
This four-week series is not about weight loss or changing your body itself in any way. It’s about transforming your relationship with your body so that you’re free to live at full amplitude. We do this by embracing our bodies exactly as they are. To receive these downloads and get information about the livestream sessions, sign up to join the #healthyatanysize community!
Remember, it’s the only body that you have--don’t waste it!