Disclaimer: Self-love isn’t easy for
anyone, but in a world that tells us
that certain people/bodies/lives
matter more, body shaming dis-
proportionately affects those who
don’t fit society’s “ideal” archetype
of thin, cis, white and non-dis-
abled. Nevertheless, I do hope ev-
eryone can gain something from
these words.
Y
ou look at yourself in the
mirror at the end of the night,
and you nod—great outfit!
Your mascara’s a little smudged,
but hey, it’s evidence of a day well
spent, right?
You start taking off your clothes,
and suddenly your attention shifts
to your nonexistent breasts and
your love handles. That good feel-
ing you had a few moments ago?
A distant memory, like the dilut-
ed cocktail you had after supper.
Some bartenders are comedians,
I tell you.
Truth: We need to spend more
time naked. How can we love
something we hardly ever see?
Long distance doesn’t work when
it comes to your body.
Get this: During a study conduct-
ed by Glamour Health, 97% of the
women said they’d had at least
one “I hate my body” moment that
day.
Luckily, there’s light at the end of
the tunnel.
Imagine looking at your body with
unconditional love instead of hate.
Imagine having sex with the lights
on without worrying about how
you looked.
What if spending more time in the
nude could help you achieve just
that? What if all we needed to do
was abandon our clothing?
your head. Say something positive
right after.
Humor me.
2. Eat
Stop treating your body like a
stranger and do these seven liber-
ating things when you’re naked.
1. Examine it
Examining your body is vital,
and not just for health reasons,
like checking for moles or lumpy
breast tissue. There’s a difference
between examination and scru-
tiny. When you scrutinize some-
thing, you’re looking for something
wrong. When you examine some-
thing, you’re trying to get to know
it more intimately.
Your partner(s) shouldn’t know
your body more than you do. The
reason they do is because they
appreciate your beauty more than
you do. Well, that, and the fact that
looking at the back of your own
neck is quite hard. But I’m sure if
you looked at your legs, you’d dis-
cover a beauty mark you hadn’t
yet noticed.
Actionable step: Set the mood.
This is a date, after all. Make sure
your room is set to a comfort-
able temperature. Light candles,
if you’re into that sort of thing. Do
what you need to get comfort-
able. Now, strip down to nothing.
Before going in front of the mirror,
take baby steps. Look down and
examine yourself this way. Try to
find that beauty mark on your leg I
mentioned earlier.
Once you’ve conquered that step,
step in front of the mirror and look
at yourself. Yes, there are proba-
bly certain things you don’t like,
but smile anyway. Certain unkind
thoughts may be running through
Make yourself a nutritious meal and
devour it, naked. Run your hands
over your food belly and be thank-
ful your intestines work and so do
you (since you have money for
said food). You know when you go
to that all-you-can-eat buffet and
wear baggy clothes, so your lumps
and bumps aren’t on display? At
home, you don’t need to do that.
Be comfortable. Be comfortable
with how your body stretches to
accommodate nutrition.
Actionable step: Pick a mentally
stimulating television show and
eat. You could also eat in silence,
focusing on the flavors taking over
your mouth.
3. Sleep
Sleeping naked is comfortable. And
after taking my shower at night, I
must admit that I don’t feel like
wearing clothes. It’s such a great
feeling to take my shower, do my
skincare routine, and collapse into
soft, lightly scented sheets. Also,
your private parts need air, as does
the skin all over your body. Some
studies have shown that sleeping
naked can help you sleep better,
as it lowers your body tempera-
ture to a degree where sleeping is
optimal.
Actionable step: Tonight, I dare
you to sleep naked. Or, you can
take baby steps and sleep without
pants on, then work your way to
sleeping naked.
4. Meditate
Your body is housing a magnificent
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