Physical self-esteem: accept your body

We don’t want to look in the mirror, we are terrified of taking photographs and we even use editors on the computer to remove “the ugly” of our body in the images. Fashion, social pressures, comparisons… are all intimate enemies that do us a lot of harm. and they are eliminating the little love we have for our body.

The body, understood as the place that gives us a physical entity and allows us to act on the external world, is a more than important part of us, together with emotions and thoughts they form a “whole”, that which differentiates us from the rest. Current beauty standards and the erroneous perception of what health is lead us to hate that shell that surrounds us.

understand the body

In order to offer all the respect it deserves to our body, a good idea is to start by understanding it. He is not a ruffian who wants to do you harm, but he usually behaves perfectly and in his complexity you can find a great ally. especially if you know how to interpret his signals.

Even when we do not take enough care of it, the body is that barrier or shield that protects us from other people’s attacks. Many times we ourselves are the ones who harm that special friend by eating what is unhealthy, going on excessive diets or not putting too much intensity into the sport we practice…

That body that you hate so much and don’t want to see reflected in the mirror, that you hide by turning off the light in privacy with your partner or that you avoid showing by wearing certain clothes, is the one that will accompany you for the rest of your life. You have the power to change or improve it, but that is sometimes incompatible with loving it.

The body and fashion

The media, advertising and society have so much power to make a girl stop eating to look like a model or a boy to spend his time at the gym lifting weights to be as attractive as Hollywood actors.

However The meaning of “beauty” (as far as the body is concerned) is quite relative and changes over time. For example, in the Renaissance, beautiful women were those who today need special sizes. In Arab culture, girls who are too thin are not the most sought after by men for marriage. And like these we could give dozens of examples.

Beyond what fashion dictates, the truth is that the body is the best technological machine we have. That you would change some part, well of course, everything can be improved. But that’s why we don’t have to despise what already is.

Do you like your body?

Most people are dissatisfied with their body. Thin people would like to be bigger, others would like to have a more stylized body, tall people are tired of seeing the world from above and short people are tired of having the feeling that they are not taken seriously.

If you answered “no” to the question of do you like your body? Know that you are like a large part of the population and we invite you to give way to other questions: why don’t you like him? What makes you not happy with him? How can you improve him? Are there areas that you do like?

To change a certain part of the body you have to think if that modification is really necessary. Identify the reason for wanting this change, is it because you don’t like it in itself or in comparison with others? In any case, If you intend to turn the task of change into a serious matter, it is best to consult with a professional and let them advise you.

Start accepting your body

Accepting does not mean standing idly by and letting nothing change. It means starting the day loving yourself and understanding the beauty you hide and also the beauty you show. An exercise that can help you is to stand in front of the mirror, preferably without clothes, and analyze every centimeter, paying close attention to what you see and the sensations it offers you.

You may feel some rejection at first, but after the first few minutes you will get used to it. Place your gaze on the hair, on the face, on the torso, on the legs. Stop on what you like most: your nose, your shoulders or your eyes.

Later look for the areas that are not to your liking. But this time instead of criticizing I propose another attitude: accept. It may seem easy in theory but not so easy in practice.

Do you have eyes that allow you to look at yourself? With a mind that allows you to evaluate? With a nose that allows you to breathe? With legs that obey you? With skin that feels through the caresses?, with a beating heart? Find the right and appropriate perspective for your body, not the judgment that advertising gives us.

Apart from observing you, One way to reach out to your body is to pay attention to what it does.. This has to do with staying with him in the shower and not mentally going to what you are going to do next, with playing sports and feeling how your heart races or with walking and having that feeling of freedom that moving gives us.

Finally, Don’t forget all those people who wish they had a body like yours. Of course there are. Accept your shapes, your irregularities, your reliefs and your sizes. You are not just the container that surrounds you, you are also your thoughts, your ideas or emotions.

You might be interested…