As people, we’re not often nice to our bodies.

I’ve talked about this before on my blog, about how I have body image issues that are exasperated by my chronic illnesses — because the first thing people say to you when you have body image issues is to “think of all the good things your body does for you!” However, when you have chronic illnesses, your body doesn’t always work how it’s supposed to, so it’s hard to be grateful for it. But… it’s important to still try. The way I try is by saying body-positive affirmations to myself.

So, in this blog post, I’m going to go over body-positive affirmations that will help you appreciate your body.

But first, I’m going to go over what body-positive affirmations are, why they’re important, and how to use them.

What Are Body Positive Affirmations?

In this post about simple self-care ideas, I go over what positive affirmations are and give you a few examples of some you can use. Positive affirmations are short phrases you speak over yourself in order to improve some area of your life. In this case, we’re talking about body-positive affirmations, which would be improving the area of your life of your relationship with your body.

Body Positivity

In order to understand body-positive affirmations, we first have to understand what body positivity is. Body positivity is a movement where people are radically accepting their bodies for everything they are and everything they aren’t. It’s embracing the fact that your body is your body and that it is perfect just the way it is. Nothing is wrong with it, nothing needs to change about it — the only thing that needs to change about your body is how society views it. And, also, maybe how you view it. if you view your body as being ugly and unworthy, that’s something that needs to change as well.

Why Are Affirmations Important?

Positive affirmations are important because they work. How? Let me explain. If you speak something over yourself over and over again, it will come true. There are also instances where you are saying something to yourself that is already true, but you just don’t believe it yet. Most (if not all) of the body-positive affirmations I have included later in the post are affirmations of this variety. They are true, you just don’t believe it yet. But you will! You will if you keep telling yourself the truth — it will set you free. Like I said in this same post about simple self-care ideas, most people think that positive affirmations are just “faking it ’til you make it”, and it very well can be, but I like to think of it as claiming what is already yours.

Affirmations are also important because they are a form of self-care. We should all be practicing self-care techniques daily to prevent things like getting in bad moods are having anxiety attacks. In this post, I go over how to deal with anxiety attacks. Please read if you have them often like I do, I think it is very helpful!

Anyway, self-care won’t completely fight off all bad days, but it will make them less likely to come around in the first place. Having bad days is part of the human experience, but so is self-care. Society these days teaches us not to value ourselves because if we do, we are deemed to be selfish. I wholeheartedly disagree with this. Self-care is important because we are worth it. We aren’t meant to just work and be stressed all the time — we are supposed to rest as well. If we don’t rest, we can’t continue working.

How to Use Affirmations

Affirmations are easy to use. All you have to do is pick one and say it to yourself a few times every day. You can start by saying it a couple of times in the morning and at night, and then any time in the day when you recognize that you need it. You can say these out loud in the mirror to yourself, meditate on them, or just think them in your head, and that counts. If you want to take it a step further, you can journal on them. Write down your affirmation, and then journal about how it makes you feel, or how you WANT it to make you feel. I write more about that in this post about different types of journals to keep.

Me and My Body

I’ve never had a good relationship with my body and I remember being as young as a little toddler and hating it. I have two distinct memories of the first times I remember feeling that way — one was my pediatrician telling me I should eat more greens because I’m overweight (I ate salads all the time… as a TODDLER), and the next one was being in ballet class and a girl measured her waist with her hands and then compared it to mine, and then laughed. I was so embarrassed both times I didn’t know what to do, and even since then, I have never loved my body.

Even now, especially now that I have gained more weight, I hate it more than ever. I tell you this so that you can understand that I am exactly where you are — I know what it feels like to hate the body you are stuck in, mostly due to the fact that, not only is my body bigger, but it is also chronically ill. I have so much going on, all of which I explain in this post chronicling my chronic and mental illnesses and how I cope with them.

Anyway, I am working on loving my body. Despite its problems, it has done so much for me over the years. I used to be able to work at a doggy daycare, a coffee shop, and a school, and all those things were pretty physical jobs. I’m grateful for my time working at those places and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my body functioning properly. It’s changed now, but I’m trying to learn that that is okay and that I can still do things. I can still hang out with my friends and craft or play video games, I can still go to therapy and better myself, I can still write this blog and be grateful for a new outlet I’ve found for myself.

Body-Positive Affirmations

1. “My body does wonderful things for me.”
2. “My body is strong and capable.”
3. “My body is my best friend.”
4. “My body is always there for me.”
5. “My body holds my soul, which is who I am.”
6. “Without my body, I wouldn’t exist.”
7. “I love my body and my body loves me.”
8. “My body is unique to me — no one else has the exact same one.”
9. “I have a wonderful relationship with my body.”
10. “My body holds my heart, my mind, and my spirit — all the things that make me who I am.”
11. “My body is always here to support me.”
12. “I want to take care of my body like it takes care of me.”
13. “There is nothing about my body that I need to change.”
14. “My body is as beautiful as it is useful.”
15. “My body is allowed to take up space.”
16. “I am grateful for my body and all it does for me.”
17. “Without my body, I would not be able to experience the world.”
18. “My body is my home and I will treat it with respect.”
19. “My body is a gift and I will take care of it.”
20. “It’s disrespectful to my body to compare it to others.”
21. “My body doesn’t need to change — the way society views bodies does.”
22. “My body will change as I get older and that is beautiful.”
23. “My relationship with my body isn’t perfect, but we are working on it.”
24. “My body has overcome many things that have made it stronger and more beautiful.”
25. “My body has always been there for me and will always be there for me.”
26. “I am happy with my body.”
27. “I will take care of my body by practicing self-care daily.”
28. “I can trust my body to take care of me by telling me what it needs.”

In Conclusion…

Body-positive affirmations are an important part of repairing your relationship with your body. If you want to start working on that, this is the best way to begin. I know I want to work on it — it’s so bad for me that it’s one of the things we work on in therapy. My body supports me and is there for me always and I want to recognize that, even when it is having troubles. I have troubles too — we have to think of our bodies as our best friends, even when we’re disabled. Would you talk to your best friend the way you talk to yourself? I don’t think you would, so don’t talk to yourself or to your body that way either.

I hope you found something helpful to you here, thanks for reading!

— Bee <333