Tips to Develop and Practice Body Positivity

Focus On Your Body’s Ability, Not Its Features

To develop a positive relationship with your body, one of the essential elements is to focus on what your body can do. Your body’s features can and will change as you grow up, leaving space for momentary happiness or disappointment. However if you appreciate your body for its ability, you can further strengthen it and build a stronger relationship with your body. For example, you may gain or lose weight as you grow up, but if you focus on what looks back at you when you see yourself in the mirror you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Instead, move your focus to maintaining a healthy lifestyle that your body can support, such as playing sports, dancing, running and so on.

Pro tip: One strategy to practice focusing on your body’s ability is to maintain a gratitude journal. Note down two things everyday that you are grateful to your body for.

Have Zero Tolerance for Negative Talk

‘Oh my god! I hate my nose!’ My thighs look so huge! ‘Look at her hair, it's turning white! Do these statements sound familiar? How does it feel when you hear these statements for yourself or by another?

Thoughts and language are deeply connected, and these together shape your actions. The more negative the talk, the more negative the thoughts. For example, you may THINK that your legs look awkwardly skinny in short clothes, everytime you see yourself in short clothes, you say ‘Ugh! I hate my legs!’ Now, every time you hear yourself say it, you slowly start believing it, and eventually, you stop wearing clothes that you like. (Your thoughts→ Language→ Action). But does that make you happy?

Pro tip: Negative self-talk will only worsen your relationship with your body and may impact your mental health negatively. Try to stay away from people who engage in negative talk, or worse, engage in body shaming.

Reframe When You Can't Refrain

Unfortunately, the tricky thing about negative thoughts is they tend to creep up anytime. You cannot stop a negative thought, however, you can always try to reframe it.

Pro tip: When you have a negative thought, try to reframe it into something positive. For example, if you think "I hate my skinny legs," try to reframe it as "My legs help me jump around and play basketball"

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Surround Yourself With Positive People

Instead of focusing on the negative, find people who support you. Try to surround yourself with people who make you feel good about yourself and if needed, even call you out when you are engaging in negative talk or being hard on your body. Such people lift you up and you find yourself in a positive environment where you can build a positive body relationship and sound well being.

Pro tip: Everyone can use a cheerleader! So have your own squad that can lift you up when you’re doubting yourself.

Your body is your responsibility, it can only support you till the time you care for it.

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

It's easy to compare yourself to others, especially with social media being so prevalent. However, comparing yourself to others can only do more harm than good (if any!) It hurts one’s self esteem and confidence.

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Pro tip: Keep in mind, everyone's life is different and so is their body!

Practice Self-Care

A huge element of body positivity is taking care of yourself. Often misunderstood to be something complex, self care is nothing but simply doing things that make you feel good and are good for your body. For example, taking a warm bath, or listening to music or spending time with friends. When you love yourself, you'll find that holding a positive relationship with your body will also become easier.

Self care also involves treating your body with kindness. Your body is your responsibility, it can only support you till the time you care for it. Therefore it's important to treat it with kindness.

Pro tip: Eat healthy, exercise, get enough sleep, are all ways you can be kind to your body.

Acceptance followed by Action

For any relationship to build, there needs to be a degree of trust and acceptance. If you want to build a positive relationship with your body, you need to accept your body for what it is. However, this does not mean that you turn a blind eye towards areas that need improvement. The goal is to aim to feel your best, not look your best. For example, you need to accept that you have big thighs or a belly, however, that does not mean that you do not workout or practice fitness. The numbers on the weighing scale or measuring tape should not be your parameters, instead find other health parameters such as stamina, strength and so on.

Pro tip: One strategy to do this is to wear clothes that make you feel good. Choose clothes that fit you well and make you feel comfortable and confident. Don’t follow trends blindly or worry about what people would say, but look for what makes you feel good.

Remember, building a positive relationship with your body is not a single action, but a continuous journey that you are likely to continue for a long time. It's important to remember that your body is unique and wonderful in its own way. Instead of comparing with others, focus on developing your own body in a healthy and sustainable way. Learn to accept your body and not engage in negative talk. Finally, remember to be grateful for everything that your body does for you, let's not forget, your body survived a pandemic for you!