“Love Your Body” Guide – Valentine’s Day Edition

Social media, commercials, and the beauty industry bombard us daily with an unrealistic and often unhealthy view of what our bodies should look and feel like. We are shown photoshopped and edited versions of real women and men to shape our ideas of what beauty is. It’s time we get back to loving our amazing bodies and how they function. This Valentine’s Day, our staff at Angel Healing Group recommends celebrating your body for what it can do rather than what the media tells us we should believe beauty to be.

The statistics in our society are scary, at best. The National Organization for Women (NOW) reports that “By age thirteen, 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies. This number grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen.” In order to counteract these negative feelings and sense of body-shaming, experts suggest de-emphasizing numbers such as the ones we see on the scale or on the tags of clothing. In fact, neither weight nor Body Mass Index tells practitioners anything substantial about body composition and overall health. Instead, eating habits, activity patterns, and other self-care choices are much more important in the larger scheme of things.

While there is no magic cure to solving our society’s obsession with beauty, we can counteract some of these messages with our own challenge to you this year – “Love Your Body.” How can you do this? Here are just a few of the ways that you can begin to embrace and celebrate the way that our bodies work to keep us safe, healthy, and happy.

Find a holistic practitioner who can help you discover the right foods for your body. This will include a guide to wholesome foods to eat and an adequate water intake. Avoid fad diets and how problematic these can be. At Angel Healing Group we help clients discover their constitutional body type according to Ayurveda so people can choose foods and herbs that are more appropriate for their constitution versus a “one diet for everyone.”
Change your mindset about your body. You are a person, not a number on a scale or a size on a tag. Your body is made up of interdependent parts. When one part is not working correctly, all parts are impacted. Therefore, if there is an imbalance in one area, it may be affecting another area. Take care of your whole body and help it function the way it was meant to.
Explore alternative methods to support your body. For example, our IonCleanse® Foot Soaks can help detox your body and give your organs and systems the support they need to cleanse themselves. Or consider Therapeutic Body Massage to improve: muscle tone, circulation, sleep patterns, mental clarity, mood and range of motion. For those of you struggling with long-term or chronic health challenges, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy or Far Infrared Therapy may be a better fit. Our practitioners can discuss which treatment is right for you and your lifestyle or health situation.
Think about how you feel. For many on a better health journey, they forget to consider how they feel on a daily basis. Are aches and pains subsiding? Is there a better range of motion when doing tasks around the house? Can you enjoy your hobbies or sports? Instead of envisioning what the media has taught us about being healthy and doing activities, like going to the gym, think about how you feel on a daily basis.
Be mindful. When you hear yourself thinking negative things about your body, or comparing yourself to airbrushed models, remind yourself about your body’s abilities. Transform those negative thoughts into reflections of how far you have come or how good you feel after eating right, exercising, or taking part in meditation. Loving your body starts in your mind!

This Valentine’s Day, enjoy being with your loved ones, but don’t forget to love your body too. Nurturing the parts of your body, mind, and spirit as one can make this year a great one. If you are interested in supporting your body in order for it to work the way it was intended, contact our practitioners through the contact page on our website. Happy Valentine’s Day to all. May this year be the one you learn to appreciate and love your body both inside and out.