There’s a huuuuge body positivity movement going on in the world right now and it seems to be all about self-acceptance and finding self-worth no matter what your body does, or doesn’t, look like.
But I’d argue that reducing body love and body positivity down to only what our body looks like is missing the big picture, because how hard is it to “love your curves” when we live in a society that pushes us to be thinner, smaller and take up less space? Being asked to love your curves when you’ve been fighting against them for 10, 20, 30+ years seems totally oversimplified and like “how the hell am I supposed to do that?!” because we might actually NOT love our curves, and that’s ok.
You actually don’t have to love your curves, or your thighs, or your belly, or your body shape.
But I wouldn’t advise hating on it, either.
There’s this grey area where you can live in the middle.The grey area is a place of gratitude and appreciation for your body and all it does for you and not only focusing on what it looks like. The grey area is about being at peace with your body just as it is, but also working respectfully to change it, if you want to.
But how do we get there?
We can start by appreciating our body for what it allows us to do, what it’s helped us accomplish and everything in between.
Our body’s sole job is to keep us alive, which is pretty mind-blowing once we stop to really think about it, and we take it for granted every single day.
Think about it…Right now your body is allowing you to sit down, read this article, breathe, swallow, think and move and you don’t have to think about doing any of that- your body just does it. How freaking cool is that?!
What I’m suggesting we do, instead of focusing on what our body does/doesn’t or should/shouldn’t look like is get some perspective.
The very thing which allows us to laugh, run, play, eat, walk, breathe, hug our loved ones and grow and birth a baby, should be loved unconditionally, not fought against.
What I want you to start doing is look beyond the cellulite and belly rolls and start appreciating the gift you’ve been given.
It may not look the way you want it to yet, but by coming from a place of appreciation and gratitude, you are one HUGE step closer to getting there.
We don’t have to love every inch of your body (though it would be amazing if we did!), but I think we do have to love and appreciate what our body does for us. To me, that’s true body positivity and body love.