Moving From Body Hatred To Body Neutrality

It's summer and the heat is so thick it feels miserable to move. All you want to do is jump in a refreshing body of water but unfortunately you don't have a pool and there's no body of water close that would suffice.
Just as you're looking up vacations to Alaska, you get a call from a friend inviting you over to enjoy her pool. You are immediately ecstatic, until she continues by also explain that there will be other people enjoying her pool- some of whom you know and some of whom you don't.  Your heart sinks as you hear that other people will be enjoying the pool as well, and mumble that you're not sure if today is good for you, that you'll think about it and get back to her. 

You feel the hatred for your body rising up, and the negative self-talk begins to torture you again. You end up in your room, crying on a pile of bathing suits you've just tried on, wishing more than anything that you could simply put on any bathing suit and give yourself what you want- a refreshing dip in a pool. But your negative body image stops you. 

​Any of this resonate with you?

If that story sounds all too familiar, you are not alone

What an incredibly unfortunate predicament we put ourselves in by allowing our perception of our body to keep us from living! You are not at fault for feeling this way, however you do have the ability to change this pattern, and open up your life to pursue whatever your heart desires, without feeling held back by your body image.  

That sounds great, but how do you even start??

It can see overwhelming to get from body hatred to body love. ​The good news is you don't have to go from one extreme to the other right now. For now, try to focus on moving from a place of body hatred to a place of body neutrality. Body neutrality is viewing the body not as good and not as bad, but viewing it from an objective frame of mind.

One way to begin this transition is to name some aspects of yourself and your body you are thankful for. Some of these may include:

• Your sense of humor
• Your laugh
• You appreciate your health
• You are thankful that your body is able to move and breathe
• You're having a good hair day
• You did a great job at work today. You were focused and productive
• You gave someone a sincere, non-body focused compliment & it felt great
• You're great at keeping in touch with friends and family

Through this exercise, you are bringing gratitude not only towards the body for how it supports you, but you're also bringing in gratitude for all that you are as a human. This begins to change your mindset from being completely focused on the body as a source of your worth, to viewing ALL that you have to offer- and you have so much to offer this world!

This week, when you identify that you're having thoughts of self-hatred, engage in this exercise and see what happens!