Do you pay proper attention to your body, listen and understand its signals? Or on the contrary, do you see him as a stranger or an enemy? Find out how to improve the relationship with your body.
Last update: 24 March, 2021
Do you think you have a good relationship with your body? Many people will respond based on their opinion of their physical appearance. However, this question goes much further, because the body is not something we possess, it is who we are. The way you look at it, judge it and listen to it is a declaration of intent towards your self. To improve the relationship with your body, therefore, you must first of all reconnect with yourself.
The way of life has changed in recent times. We live immersed in conflict: hectic routine and sedentary routine. All this has us led to perceive the body as a stranger (we don't pay attention to him and we don't listen to him) or as an enemy (we reject him and want him to change).
This is a common phenomenon that most of us suffer from. Nonetheless, we still have time to reverse this trend.
Do you need to improve the relationship with your body?
To understand if we relate in a healthy way with our body, let's ask ourselves how we normally approach it. Do we criticize him? Do we reject some parts of it? Do we blame him for not meeting our expectations?
How many times have you looked in the mirror and addressed unkind words to your reflection? How many times have you complained about your poor physical stamina, how you always feel tired or how your neck hurts?
And on the contrary, try to remember the last time you felt grateful for your body, for all the functions it performs every second to keep you alive. Try to remember when you gave yourself a compliment, when you have indulged in a relaxing bath or a walk in nature. If your body could talk to you, do you think it would say some of the following phrases?
- You feed me just to make me survive, you give me the food I need because you only care about my appearance.
- You feed me unhealthy foods because you never have time to prepare healthier options.
- You don't let me move, stretch, or stay active. We spend most of the day sitting, slouching, in a posture that hurts me.
- Don't let me catch up, we don't get enough sleep every night.
- In spite of everything, you ask me to give my best and you blame me for all the signs I send you to make you understand that I need help.
In fact, our body speaks to us. He screams all this at us every day, but we're not used to hearing him.
How to improve the relationship with your body
Improving the relationship with your body takes time and perseverance. However, some guidelines can help you get started on this long journey.
Pay attention to the state of your body and your bodily sensations
Immersed in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we have become accustomed to ignoring or confusing the signals we receive from our body. We then begin to get in touch with our body and analyze what we feel.
Try to understand when you are hungry and when you are full, try to distinguish if it is really hungry or thirsty, or perhaps boredom, sadness or anxiety. Furthermore, familiarize yourself with the feelings you feel when you are sleepy and need to sleep or when you have been in the same position for too long and need to stretch.
Respond to physical needs and requirements
After having learned to listen to our body, let us commit ourselves to satisfy the requests it signals to us. Let's start in small steps: drink water as soon as we are thirsty, go to sleep earlier, adopt a more upright posture, try to breathe to calm anxiety instead of resorting to food. With each step, the commitment will become easier to keep.
Change your inner dialogue
Criticism moderate. You would never tell a friend that he is fat, has bad hair, or looks awful. So why do you tell yourself this every day? You may see these characteristics in your friend, but you also see many others. He or she is your friend for several reasons, a combination that you appreciate and respect. It is what you love and care about.
Perhaps your body has many aspects that you don't like, details that you would like to change. Even so, it is a perfect system capable of performing many processes in an optimal way and involuntary.
Improving the relationship with your body will help you live better
To reject one's body is to reject oneself; to abandon it and neglect it is to do the same with yourself, and this is an extremely painful feeling.
Accepting it, taking care of it and valuing it will not only help to increase your self-esteem and achieve inner peace, but will also allow you to achieve a healthier shape.
Every loving word and deed addressed to one's body will be rewarded. Reconcile with your body, you will not regret it.
