3 tips for a great relationship with your body

I’m a big believer in relationships. I put a lot of time and energy into my relationships – with my husband, my kids, my extended family – and friends. That feeling of connection and communication is deeply nourishing to me.

But there’s one relationship that actually trumps all of those, and that’s my relationship with my body.

The reason it overides the other relationships, is that if I’m not feeling good – either I’m ill or I’m just not feeling good about myself…or I”m exhausted because I havent’ been taking care of my body – all my other relationships suffer. I’m less open and available to the people in my life. I have less energy for my kids, I’m less giving to my friends, I’m less sensual with my husband. My relationship with my self and body impacts everything!

So today, I want to give you 3 powerful tips that will help you have a great relationship with your body.

1. Take responsibility for your relationship with your body and your behavior within your relationship.

Just like you wouldn’t expect your neighbor or your mother or your doctor to create harmony in your marriage, you can’t expect someone else to wave a magic wand and make you feel fantastic in your body.

You have to take a stand for feeling good in your own skin. You have to make a decision that the connection between you and your body is important, and worth investing your time and energy in.

The word responsible is from the words “response” and “able.” To improve how you feel about your body – you need to be able to respond to your body, listen to your body – and nourish your body.

Taking responsibility for your relationship with your body doesn’t mean whipping it into shape or always eating perfectly. It does mean knowing that YOU are worth the time and energy of self-care, and that you can also get support and help to learn how to act in a way that is truly responsive to your needs.

Unfortunately. in our culture…so many of us don’t give ourselves the gift of responding to our body. We are busy rushing and being responsible to everyone else. It’s time to be responsible to yourself. And if this is a hard thing for you to do, then it’s time to get a relationships coach, one that specializes in women and their bodies (that’s what I do!).

2. Learn the language of your body

If you’re trying to connect with anyone, it really helps to know their language. The same holds true for you and your body.

The body speaks in the language of sensations and symptoms. Every ache and pain is the way our body speaks. Every hungry and full signal is our body talking about what it needs for nourishment. Every yawn and stretch is a way that our body talks about it’s energy needs.

Tuning into the body with deep listening and respect, and learning it’s language, is the basis of a strong relationship.

 

3. Accept help

Who says we should automatically know how to have a healthy and positive relationship with our body? Our current culture is constantly giving us messages about what and how to eat that don’t necessarily even fit our unique needs. Our media is perpetually telling us what we are supposed to look like in an idealized way. And often, many of us carry a painful legacy from our family or childhood, of not feeling good about ourselves.

So it’s time to let go of the idea that we should independently know how to step into a healthy and positive relationship with our body. Just like we would reach out to a marriage therapist to support our intimate relationship, we need to do that for our body.

I see myself as a marriage counselor for women and their bodies.  Women deserve to feel good and strong and comfortable in their own skin.

Take a stand for your relationship with your body. I help you become respons-able, learn your body’s language, and give you support and help in learning how to nourish yourself deeply. Because when you feel good in your body, everything else in life is better!

To take a first step, join me for my free tele-class:

I know I don’t eat right, but I just can’t seem to stop!

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Nina Manolson, MA, CHC, certified Health Coach and Psychology of Eating Coach believes that every women deserves to feel good in their own body. She helps women create a healthy and positive relationship with their food and body so they can love their body and life!  She’s the founder of NinaManolson.com and NourishedWomanNation.com 

She helps busy women look and feel their best, and helps them feed their kids well in a world that doesn’t.

She’s the author of “Feed Your Kids Well In A World That Doesn’t: an everyday guide to make healthy food happen in your home and beyond”. She’s also the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

To get your F.R.E.E. Video Series “What to do now, when everything you’ve done hasn’t worked” by mail and receive her healthy recipes and wellness tips click here.