Content Warning: Sexual Assault
A common feeling for young women across the world is feeling self-conscious or foreign in their bodies. Or is this just a feeling that is personal to me? Sometimes the feeling of looking into the mirror and not recognizing the person you see is the most daunting thing. Not feeling confident in the overall appearance of your body is extraordinarily upsetting. One day you feel gorgeous, and the next you feel like the ugliest person you have ever seen. The constant comparison of yourself with your peers and celebrities can do a number on your mental health and the overall view that you have of yourself as a person.
This is why using body gratitude as a tool is extremely important in your day-to-day life. Body gratitude is an act that does not reflect your outward appearance but rather reflects upon what is happening inside of your body. When practicing body gratitude, you are actively thanking your body for allowing it to function and move in the way that it does. For example, you can practice body gratitude by thanking your body for digesting your last meal or giving you the power and strength to walk from your dorm room to your next class. Body gratitude primarily is directed toward the inside of your body and its functions rather than what people can outwardly see.
Every day I try to practice body gratitude, regardless of how I am feeling about my body. I feel that it is most valuable to practice body gratitude when you wake up in the morning in order to put your brain in a positive mindset. A powerful addition to body gratitude is using daily affirmations. Your affirmations are personal to you and can be as simple as “you are going to be okay” or “you are worthy of love.” I encourage you to even write these affirmations on sticky notes and put them in your bedroom or on your school supplies. Having those reminders surrounding you in your space can be beneficial, especially on your hardest days.
Body gratitude can also help you feel connected to your body and, overall, help you feel intact with your general emotions. As a survivor of sexual assault, I know what it is like to feel completely disconnected from your body. For so long, I felt like my body wasn’t even mine, and some days I still feel that way. It is truly one of the hardest things feelings to shake, but utilizing body gratitude helps me feel more connected to my body and myself every day.
After the incident, I got a tattoo on my back to take ownership of my body again. The tattoo I got was a poem by my favorite poet, Rupi Kahr, saying “the world gives you so much pain, but here you are making gold of it. There is nothing much purer than that.” This is a poem that encourages me to love and accept myself and my body for how it is—this is another form of displaying body gratitude.
The art and practice of body gratitude can be displayed in a multitude of ways and differs for each person, which is something that I find extremely beautiful. I hope that you take some time to practice some body gratitude, regardless of what path in life you are on. I believe that this is an extremely important tool to carry with you throughout the entirety of your life because you never know when you may need to tap in and utilize it.
I would like to leave you with this. You are beautiful. You are enough. You are capable of all things. You are strong. You matter.