This Body is Best

Your Body Best Life, Emotions, Discoveries, Insights

In February, I did a little Instagram challenge for myself and anyone who wanted to play along. Classy McGraceful was with me the entire time, and some other friends joined in, as well.

My Instagram Challenge

The challenge was to find something to love about your body every single day to celebrate how this body is best. We focus a lot on love in February, and we need to remember to focus that love toward our bodies, too.

Even if we think we “hate” parts of them, we can still find pieces to love. How can you not love a heart that beats for you every day? How can you not love legs that carry you through the world?

What I’ve Learned Over the Years

I’ve had plenty of fights with my body. There are still things I struggle with, of course. But I’ve come a long way in terms of loving this body, and I’ve learned a lot:

  • It’s easier to love when you focus on what it can do.
  • When you love what it can do, it’s easier to love what it looks like.
  • The way it looks responds more to love than to dislike or disgust. It’s easier to make changes from a place of love.
this body is best
An old photo, taken for a friend whose best body was tired of fighting breast cancer. Now, it’s a reminder that sometimes things go wrong with our bodies, but we’re so very lucky to live in them for as long as they last.

This little challenge really did deepen my appreciation. As I took time to reflect every day on something I loved, I fell more deeply in love with that something. Posts from other Instagrammers got me looking at things in new ways, and appreciating things I hadn’t thought of.

New Insights and Ideas

For example, @classymcg posted about sweating! Something that’s not easy to love when it’s ruining your good shirts and making you look nervous and causing all sorts of discomfort on otherwise perfectly nice occasions. That post made me think about how I pour when I workout, how people have asked me post-workout, “Did you go swimming?” Uh, no.

Living in Panama always caused me some anxiety, because you were bound to sweat whether you were running a marathon or sitting still, and I tried to choose clothing that wouldn’t show sweat, if it came to that. All that frustration over a system that was designed to protect me, to keep me from overheating. It gets inconvenient, but it’s still a pretty brilliant effort by my body.

If you’re on Instagram, check out #thisbodyisbest and see if you don’t come away the tiniest bit inspired about how great your own body is.