Embracing body positivity, discover inner peace now
It goes beyond what you see in the mirror, it is finding true inner peace in your mind and soul.
Embracing body positivity has actually very little to do with your physical appearance and all the more about your mind.
The majority of the beliefs we hold about our bodies are largely influenced by what we see in the media and popular culture.
Your worth is not defined by your body or physical appearance.
No matter what, you are inherently valued and worthy of love.
Body positivity is appreciating and embracing your body as it is. Whilst body positivity has an emphasis on self love and self compassion, please note that it is normal to have a mixture of feelings. There are days where we truly love and embrace and at other times we may not – this is part of being human. It is okay to have a mixture of feelings. The following quotes will help you embrace body positivity as they emphasise the mind-soul connection over physical appearance.
Before we dive into your mindset, it is important to acknowledge that physicality of bodies. When exploring body positivity, attraction can come to mind however we explore the make up of human bodies which are trillions and trillions of atoms, cells and nerves. That is truly remarkable, no matter how you look!
Your body is amazing
You are made of stardust.
Every atom in your body is billions of years old. Hydrogen, the most common element in the universe and a major feature of your body, was produced in the big bang 13.7bn years ago. Heavier atoms such as carbon and oxygen were forged in stars between 7bn and 12bn years ago, and blasted across space when the stars exploded. Some of these explosions were so powerful that they also produced the elements heavier than iron, which stars can’t construct. This means that the components of your body are truly ancient: you are stardust.
Your nose can detect up to 1 trillion smells.
The human nose can distinguish at least 1 trillion different odours, a resolution orders of magnitude beyond the previous estimate of just 10,000 scents.
Bushdid, C., Magnasco, M. O., Vosshall, L. B. & Keller, A. Science 343, 1370–1372 (2014).
Your stomach acid can dissolve metal.
Your stomach’s primary digestive juice, hydrochloric acid, can dissolve metal. (A choking hazard is still a choking hazard, though.)
Your heart beats more than three billion times according to an average lifespan.
Since human hearts beat at between 50 and 90 beats per minute, approximately, this means a lifespan of between 30 and 100 years (humans have lifespans in the upper part of that range, closer to three billion heartbeats than one billion).
Your heart can beat on it’s own, even outside your body if it has oxygen.
The heart does not need a brain, or a body for that matter, to keep beating. The heart has its own electrical system that causes it to beat and pump blood.
Embracing body positivity – You are made of stardust
Quotes
Love your body as it is now, as it has been as it will be – it is inherently loveable no matter what.
“If we make self-love or body acceptance conditional, the truth is, we will never be happy with ourselves. The reality is that our bodies are constantly changing, and they will never remain exactly the same. If we base our self-worth on something as ever-changing as our bodies, we will forever be on the emotional roller coaster of body obsession and shame.”
CHRISSY KING
Be friends with your body.
“And I said to my body softly, ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.”
Embracing your body means to accept yourself.
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”
THICH NHAT HANH
Embracing your body should not be in relation to your weight.
“Life is so much more beautiful and complex than a number on a scale.”
TESS MUNSTER
Just because you work on your body doesn’t mean it will automatically make you love it. Body positivity is a mindset. It’s is accepting who you are right now.
“No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance.”
ROBERT HOLDEN
You are your soul. Your body is a vessel.
“The relentless attempts to be thin take you further and further away from what could actually end your suffering: getting back in touch with who you really are. Your true nature. Your essence.”
GENEEN ROTH
Your body is a beautiful home for your soul.
“This is it: This body is home. This is where I live and hang my hat. This is where I settle into my hips and sit easy in myself, slung together with strong muscles and bones, made gentle and forging with flesh. This body is durable, has lasted for years, hunkered down through fierce storms and allows for the peaceful erosions of age. It is like a cottage on the shore: weathered and well made, a place where a person could comfortable live. I like it here. It is my own.”
MARYA HORNBACHER
Our bodies are a paintbrush in the canvas of life – they enable us to have rich experiences and do life
“Stop spending all day obsessing, cursing, perfecting your body like it’s all you’ve got to offer the world. Your body is not your art, it’s your paintbrush. Whether your paintbrush is a tall paintbrush or a thin paintbrush or a stocky paintbrush or a scratched up paintbrush is completely irrelevant. What is relevant is that YOU HAVE A PAINTBRUSH which can be used to transfer your insides onto the canvas of your life — where others can see it and be inspired and comforted by it.”
GLENNON DOYLE
If you’ve always been negative, try being positive.
“You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”
LOUISE HAY
Self love is so important to enjoy your life.
“To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don’t wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now.”
ALAN COHEN
Embrace your body now, don’t wait a lifetime.
“I don’t want to wait until I’m 73 to embrace my body. To look back and think of my beauty: How did I miss it? Let’s not wait another moment.”
ASHLEY ASTI
You are powerful, you define your body positivity – no one else.
“Loving your body is about being comfortable in your body, and only you get to set the parameters of that. Only you get to decide what that looks like, and only you know where the finish line is. Never let anyone make you feel ashamed about what you decide, or don’t decide, to put on your body.”
BRITTANY GIBBONS
Let’s all embrace body positivity for ourselves and for future generations.
“As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, ‘I love my body’. Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, ‘I am so proud of my body.’ So I make sure to say it to my daughter because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age.”
KATE WINSLET
Affirmations that may help with embracing body positivity
♥ I appreciate all the amazing things my body can do.
♥ I take care of my body and my body takes care of me.
♥ I respect my body.
♥ My worthiness does not depend on my weight. I am already worthy and loved.
♥ True beauty is in the way we feel in our mind and soul.
♥ I am beautiful no matter how I look.
♥ I am made of stardust.
In conclusion on embracing body positivity
Body positivity embraces the fact that there is no one certain physical mould for a ‘perfect body’. Being positive about your body is about self acceptance, self love and self compassion. It is about being at peace with who you are and going beyond your physical appearance. Embracing body positivity is taking into consideration your mind and soul too.
Helpful affirmations to help you feel positive about your body
27 Calming affirmations and mantras for acceptance
Additional reading on embracing body positivity
What is beauty, on being beautiful – in her vitality
Inspiring quotes on beauty – in her vitality
What Does Body Positivity Actually Mean? – Katherine Schreiber MFA, LMSW
The Importance of Body Positivity – The Recovery Village