Body Love
Self-care, self-love, mindfulness; all topics that we’ve been hearing about and discussing over the past few months. The importance of taking time to care and nurture for ourselves has been highlighted during the pandemic, and while we’re all wishing things would finally settle down a little, we have to admit that it has been a nice change of pace. But one thing that we’ve also noticed has been a trending topic during this time is the idea that we need to suddenly get into fantastic (nearly unachievable) shape and finally have the body that we’ve been dreaming of— or rather one that society has dreamt up for us. And while health and fitness are, of course, an important aspect of our lives— for the sake of living a healthy lifestyle and preventing unnecessary health issues down the road— the fact of doing this in order to achieve a certain body image can be deemed unhealthy in itself.
We’re all going through a weird time right now, that’s undeniable, and the changes we’ve witnessed affect our minds and bodies way more than we’re probably aware of. The pressure we feel to continue living normally through a pandemic is harsh on our entire body, and adding onto it by feeling like we need to make use of this time to have a specific body type doesn’t make it any easier. So how can we take the pressure off of ourselves?
Body positivity. It’s not an easy thing, I know. The grass is always greener on the other side, but they also say that the grass in greener wherever you water it. So why not focus our energy on loving ourselves in our current state? Our ability to grow and flourish into the best version of ourselves is easiest when we’re coming from a place of gratitude and appreciation, rather than one of lack-mentality and feeling like we’re not good enough.
If we cannot love and accept ourselves as we are, we may never be able to get to a point where that state of mind is even possible because we’ll always be chasing after something that isn’t necessarily real; a state of feeling content within a body that we don’t truly appreciate in the first place. If we can begin by showing ourselves a little love for exactly where we’re at in the present moment, perceived flaws and all, the journey to getting to where we want to be can be shortened. We may realize that the journey was never about obtaining a perfect body in the first place; it was just about finding peace in the one we’ve been given.
There’s always going to be a body we compare our own to; a physique that we wish we could achieve, but who said there’s anything wrong with the one we currently have? Trends come and go, ideal body types change every season. Envy and jealousy are normal emotions to experience, but this doesn’t mean they are the best use of our energy. We are more than our exterior appearance, anyway. Can we appreciate all that our bodies do for us everyday and recognize how incredible we are as a living, human being?
Warmly,
Team Toccare