Do you think self-love can go hand in hand with all of that resentment you have towards your body? Newsflash – it can’t. Every inch of your body needs and deserves self-love! Here’s is how to respect your body and take proper care of it every day.

 

How To Respect Your Body

 

1. Get Enough Rest

 

The first and easiest way to respect your body and treat yourself better is to make sure that you get as much rest as you need each day. Proper rest is important for you because your body needs those resting periods to conserve energy and make repairs to your cells.

If you don’t get all of the rest you need, your body will begin to fail in small ways, and you will feel tired most of the time. Lack of energy will then make you struggle with other parts of your life, and induce a ton of negative self-talk. So make sure to have a proper resting routine and de-stress regularly to feel rested mentally as well.

 

2. Make Sure You’re Hydrated

 

How much water do you drink in a day? Hydration is something that a lot of people overlook, even though they know they should be drinking more water.

Pure water is extremely important to help sustain many of your basic functions, including a well-working cognitive system. Simply speaking, drink water to care for yourself, to respect your body, and allow it to function as it should.

 

3. Regularly Get Away From Technology

 

These days, technology has been exceptionally good at absorbing nearly all of the free time we have. Everyone is constantly being immersed in social apps and updates, notifications, e-mails and the list goes on and on…

Social media has made it extremely difficult for a big part of people to feel content with their daily existence. It’s getting harder and harder to respect your body when you’re constantly advised to “lose weight”, “stay perfectly hairless”, and try a myriad of products for every part of your body. This doesn’t mean that social media is a bad thing, but it could mean that a lot of people should use social media less, especially the ones who feel worse after scrolling through the feed.

To respect your body, help yourself feel better, minimize self-criticism and increase your rest time, it would be a good idea to regularly take a step away from social media and technology. This way, you can focus more on things that improve your wellbeing, instead of diminishing it.

 

4. Listen To Your Body

 

How to respect your body if you don’t know what it needs? Pay attention and listen to your body signals.

Self-awareness isn’t always something that comes to people naturally… Sometimes it can take a lot of effort for you to learn what your body needs and when. Once you have made the choice to build a closer relationship with your body, you can begin to practice body mindfulness. Simply tuning into your senses can help you notice the signals your body sends to show you what it really wants.
Here’s an example. You eat your favorite, super delicious meal. This is very tasty so you eat until you start to feel unpleasantly too full and achy. This is how your body tells you’ve eaten too much and if you’ve learned to notice these signals, you could avoid doing unnecessary damage to your body.

 

5. Do Basic Self Care

 

Basic self-care is a must if you want to respect your body and be kind to it. And it doesn’t mean a lot of things! Respecting your body begins with just a few things we should do daily:

1. Have some exercise. Walking, yoga, jogging, or simply a few exercises on the floor is wonderful for your body. Your muscles, bones, and joints will thank you for those 10 minutes you spend moving, and your mood will improve.
2. Take a shower. Proper hygiene goes a long way, and staying clean shows that you respect your body too.
3. Eat a healthy meal. And yes, it could be hard to get healthy meals if you’re always on a run, so make a compromise and try to at least eat a healthy dinner or breakfast.

Doing just these three things can build a strong foundation for self-respect and teach you how to respect your body even on the busiest days. The secret is to really tune into your senses and make effort to do what your body needs.

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