Finding small ways every day to celebrate body positivity is super important when it comes to loving and appreciating your physical body. It can be a real struggle when there are aspects of your body that you may not like. It’s really ready to fixate on the aspects you dislike, and that can have a really negative impact on your overall sense of self-worth and confidence. Loving your body in all its entirety is not easy for a lot of us, but these simple ways to practice celebrating your body each day can really help change the way you look at yourself and can help you truly love your body more!
Celebrating body positivity or simply being body positive can mean different things to different people, everyone is unique. That being said, generally speaking, body positivity is celebrating your physical self for all that your body allows you to do, loving your body and physical appearance, and celebrating being in the body you have.
Body positivity is important for everyone because it can help foster positive feelings of self-worth and a positive self-image, which helps with confidence and self-acceptance! It can be difficult to fully love all of your physical self, but celebrating body positivity each day can really help to shift our negative and critical thinking about our bodies to more positive and celebratory thoughts of acceptance.
This is a very popular way to celebrate body positivity! Saying affirmations each day can really help to build habits of accepting your body and loving it, as well as celebrating how amazing it is. You can write your affirmations yourself or take them from inspiring people or other places – there are many out there! Check out Pinterest.com to find a bunch of body-positive affirmations.
An affirmation is just a little saying that you say aloud to yourself. I like to say mine in the morning when I first get up, but there is no right or wrong time. You can make a note of them on your phone and take your affirmations with you anywhere you go to say them at any time. It’s great to practice saying them when you notice yourself being harsh or critical of your body, or when you may be comparing it to other people.
This is my personal favorite way to celebrate body positivity. Write a love letter to your body! If there is a particular part of your body you struggle to accept or appreciate or would love to change, try writing a love letter to that specific part.
For me, I’ve written love letters to my thighs and my nose. It really did help to write out a positive letter telling the parts of my body I dislike how much I appreciate them. Without my unique nose, I wouldn’t be able to smell or breathe! And my thighs are powerful and help me get where I want to go. These love letters are a great way to help change the way you see your least favorite parts of your body!
Practicing yoga or meditating are both great ways to foster a deep connection with your physical body. When you feel connected to your body in this way, you can use body awareness to focus on how you really feel at that moment in your body. You can focus on each different part of your body, and your breathing, and how it all feels together.
Being aware of how you feel in your physical body is a great foundation for beginning to appreciate it and love it for all that it does for you. Yoga and meditation are both amazing options when it comes to practicing body awareness!
This idea is very similar to writing love letters to your body, but this time it’s specifically thank you letters. With love letters, they’re more about celebrating your body and beginning to love it and the way it looks and feels.
With thank you letters, these letters are meant to focus more on appreciating what your body does for you and how you use it and being appreciative of those things. For example, if you don’t like your legs, think of all the places your legs take you throughout your days! Without them, your life would be much different. Thank you letters are a good way to look at your body differently and really appreciate all the parts that make you uniquely you.
This practice is possibly the hardest one when it comes to celebrating body positivity. It sounds simple, but shutting down harmful negative thoughts about your body when you have them can be really tricky. First, you have to notice and be aware of when you have these thoughts. It could be a simple “I hate my curly hair” as you walk by a mirror, but thoughts like these over time can really hurt your sense of confidence or self-image.
Once you notice you’ve had a negative thought about your body image, you have to reverse it. For instance, if you notice you’ve just thought about how much you dislike your stomach, try to then think of something positive to say about your stomach or find a way to appreciate it. It sounds silly, but shutting down these negative thoughts when you have them is really important to a positive relationship with your body.
Probably the most fun way to celebrate body positivity, this one is really simple: show your body some love! Treating it right and keeping it healthy are important ways to celebrate your body of course, but there are also other ways that are important too, like taking a relaxing bubble bath!
Get a pedicure, get a massage, get your hair done, go for a run, wear your favorite outfit, sleep in – do whatever makes your body feel good! Celebrating your body through ideas like these is a good way to reconnect with your physical body and to develop kind and appreciative feelings toward yourself and your body. So if you’re having a tough day when it comes to loving your body, don’t be afraid to show it some love!
Having a routine is nice for classes and the gym, but not when it comes to going out. Here are…
Are you having trouble trying to find the perfect outfit for gameday at UT? Well, luckily you’ve come to the…
Who's got it better than us? At the University of Michigan, you will find that there is never a shortage…
A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. It is true. I mean what better way to get a…
Every university has its fair share of traditions, special buildings and unique quirks that distinguish them from other schools. As…
If you’re a student at UC Berkeley, you know that as soon as you graduate, employers will come frolicking to…
