Is there such a thing as a perfect body and if there was such a thing, would it really make you happy?
There is a beautiful saying -
“ If only our eyes saw souls instead of bodies, how different our ideals of beauty would be”
We come in all shapes and sizes and each one of us will see different aspects of beauty in one another. We cannot select one body type and then label it as perfect. Striving to have a healthy body will bring far greater results than striving to have a perfect body.
There has been decades of research done showing us that there is a large percentage of both men and women who struggle with self-esteem, body image and general appearance issues. In my case, I have seen it first-hand. For many years, I worked as a wellness consultant in clinics. My role was to support both women and men and assist them to change their lives with improving their diets as well as their mindset.
Day in and day out, my clients would tell me what they hated about their bodies. They would focus so intensely on all that they didn’t like and never once focused on what they did like. I realized very early on whilst consulting that if I could convince my clients to change their minds and start to focus on all that was right with them and not with what was wrong with them, we could really tame that inner body critic and quite literally, change their lives for the better.
What consumes your mind controls your life.
When you think about your body, do you ever focus on the parts that you love or do you constantly obsess about the parts that annoy you? I challenge anyone who struggles to love and accept their body to stand in front of a mirror and seriously acknowledge every curve, every fold and every crease.
Ignore what your mind is saying. Shut down the thoughts that are criticizing and finding fault and resist the urge to look at yourself negatively. Instead, focus intensely on the parts of your body you love. Recognize, acknowledge and accept that your body is beautiful. The human body is nothing short of miraculous.
I am not beautiful like you. I am beautiful like me.
Your body and your face tell your life story. Your scars reflect your battles and fights. For many, these scars symbolize survival. Your lines and wrinkles are imprints of a life well lived. They represent laughter, sadness, experience, wisdom and life. Why are we so intent on removing them?
In a completely image obsessed society, we should be standing proud and really celebrating our individuality. Instead of accepting what we are being told is ‘perfect’, question it. When you look in the mirror and get to know your body, make sure you think about whose beauty ideal it is that you are comparing yourself too.
“Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening.Treat it with care”
– Buddha
Expressing gratitude for all your body does for you will help you to realize how amazingly beautiful your body is right now. Think of all the wonderful things you experience through your body. The list of joyous things your body can do for you is only limited by the boundaries you set for it.
Making peace with our body ultimately lies in realizing that it is not our body that needs to change, but it is actually our mindset and often our choices that need to change. If we stop the judgments and the criticism and actually embrace a new perspective, one that empowers us to feel beautiful, healthy and confident, when we give ourselves permission to be ourselves completely and nourish our body with healthy food, exercise and self-love, we release our mind, body and spirit from struggling.
Accepting your body right here and right now may sound a little anti – health, but I can assure you it is not. You actually need to like and respect your body in order to prioritize self-care and achieve long term sustainable wellness. When we love something we are more inclined to take care of it and when we feel better physically and mentally, we are more motivated to nurture ourselves.
Oprah Winfrey once said -
“This is a call to arms. A call to be gentle, to be forgiving, to be generous with yourself. The next time you look into the mirror, try to let go of the story line that says you're too fat or too sallow, too ashy or too old, your eyes are too small or your nose too big; just look into the mirror and see your face. When the criticism drops away, what you will see then is just you, without judgment, and that is the first step toward transforming your experience of the world.”
When we cease fighting with our bodies, when we stop the negative internal dialogue that we often run and when we take full responsibility for our wellness, it is only then that we can truly release our spirit from this often overwhelming struggle we have with our bodies and find peace.