Five Steps to Treating Your Body with Kindness

What would this look like?

What if treating your body with kindness was the answer to feeling better, less stressed, more confident, and possibly to overcome an illness, injury or weight issue?

First, let me share what the opposite of this might look like. Throughout my childhood, I watched someone who did not treat her body with kindness – my mom. She ate poorly, smoked regularly, was overweight, didn’t exercise, and was in chronic pain from arthritis and migraine headaches. She died at age 37 from breast cancer. I was 15 years old.

I didn’t want to suffer from a horrible disease and die young like my mom, so I developed a passion for health and well-being. I learned ways to deal with stress and took a course in kinesiology. I went to therapy to work with my feelings around my mother’s death and decided to become a therapist myself.

I decided to be kind to my body and to raise my kids differently from the way I was raised.

Now my life’s work is to share what I know with people like you.

Five Steps to treating your body with kindness

1. Define what treating your body with kindness is for you. It might be…
   • Getting more sleep or rest.
   • Eating better.
   • Exercising or getting some kind of movement.
2. Notice your self-talk, and change the negative to positive to make sure you are being kind to yourself.
   • I can’t… becomes I can…!
   • I don’t want to…becomes I can’t wait to…!
   • I’m not ready…becomes I’m ready to…!
3. Plan what you will do to be healthier that’s different from what you are doing now…
   • How will you get more sleep, eat better, or move your body?
   • Think small. One tiny change in the right direction will get you closer to treating your body with more kindness than being over-ambitious and getting overwhelmed (and ultimately giving up).
   • Calendar it! Yes, decide and commit to treating your body with kindness by scheduling it in your calendar.
4. Expect a positive outcome for EVERYTHING you do to carry out your plan.
   • Be mindful of your expectations.
   • Think in the direction of what you are choosing.
5. Celebrate! Acknowledge each small win to anchor your accomplishment.
   • Share it with a friend.
   • Give yourself a pat on the back! Tell yourself, “I did it!”
   • Do something fun (and healthy) to celebrate.

Taking these five steps to treating your body with kindness can have you feeling better, less stressed, more confident, and stronger. How rewarding it can be to treat your body with kindness! Not only for you but for those who love you and are watching.