Our bodies can sometimes be hard to love. They come with vulnerabilities to pain and constant change. Not our favorite things in life! I am currently reading a book with one of my kiddos on the changing body for school (and life) and this book makes sure to teach kids that our bodies can be GROSS at times. It's totally normal! And it is... but many of us hold so much shame and embarrassment for our bodies. Connecting to our bodies can feel unbearable at times, especially if there is a history of trauma associated to our body, but they are our forever home in this world and treating them with care is important even when we feel disgust or discomfort toward them.

Taking care of our bodies is often reduced to the external criteria of making sure that it "looks right." However, is that how we would take care of a car? What would happen if we just paid attention to the exterior? We stopped changing the oil or giving it gas. Eventually it would shut down... and so will we. Taking care of our body is listening to it and meeting its needs. Do you think of your body as an object to mold or as a part of yourself to care for? What kind of relationship do you have with your body? Is it shaming, harsh, violent, maybe even abusive? Or do you treat your body with love, kindness, care and respect?

If you are on a journey to healing your relationship with your body, consider starting with a neutral relationship expectation. You don't have to love it, but you can no longer hate on it. Consider shifting objectifying into BEING OBJECTIVE about your body. This means going from treating your body like an unworthy object to recognizing (without judgement) all that your body does for you to protect you and keep you alive.

Our bodies are truly amazing and a critical part of creating wellness in our life. They link us to our intuition so that we can move through life with more confidence, trust and ease. Connecting to our body through meditation, mindful movement (cough*yoga*cough) and journaling can be helpful to start to repair the relationship. Consider writing a letter to your body practicing gratitude for all that it does for you today.