Body neutrality is a growing trend associated with body positivity, but it is still a little different.
Body positivity is a movement that encourages people to love and celebrate their bodies as they are. This movement has become increasingly popular in recent years.
In this regard, bikini bodies are becoming a thing of the past, and they are increasingly glorified and encouraged on the body of every shape and size, and the same has been presented in many advertising campaigns and on catwalks.
However, body positivity has one big limitation: it keeps the focus on beauty or feeling beautiful as the primary goal.
Because there are many ways in which someone can be beautiful and how someone looks. A holistic approach to bodies is encouraged, which can help you not focus on the body image itself and be grateful for what your body does for you.
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Body neutrality
Today’s world attaches great importance to the appearance of the body – when it is not in line with the current ideal.
This can lead to excessive worry, irregular diet or compulsive exercise, which negatively affects our mental and physical health.
So, body positivity makes you think about your appearance, and body neutrality opens up space for every other aspect of your life.
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Both movements support respect and acceptance of the body, but from a different angle
A physically positive comment means that you think like this: I love my stomach, stretch marks and everything else on my body, while a physically neutral comment says:
I love and appreciate my stomach. It is my core and the centre of my being, he works hard to digest food and give me energy.
Neutrality means that you feel neutral towards your body most of the day – it means that sometimes you can feel positive, sometimes you will have some negative thoughts, and often you will not think about it at all.
Neutrality means not letting thoughts of your body bother you in search of things you care about, even if you don’t like the way you look. Someone who has a healthy image of their body does not always feel too positive about their body, and that is normal.
It is this healthy body image that should extend through life, no matter what you think or what someone else thinks about your body.
However, just practising neutrality does not mean not thinking about your body at all, it is about how you think. It goes beyond what your body looks like and what it does and can be a channel and a means to a full and joyful life.
Instagram has become a place where celebrities are increasingly advocating for this trend. He also appeared to bridge the gaps left by the body’s positive movement, so this term was actually coined by bloggers, influencers, and even celebrities.
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How to practice body neutrality?
It looks different for everyone – everyone’s relationship with the body is unique. However, there are ways you can integrate body neutrality into your lifestyle. Foremost, be grateful and objective.
Be grateful every morning for giving your body rest and renewal, and be objective in the sense that you think about what each part of the body does for you.
This strategy is called “mirror acceptance” because you look at your body through the description and work on developing a more unbiased approach.
Work to turn awareness into a habit
As you move, develop a sense of gratitude for what your body does in real-time. When you’re not feeling well, think about why – maybe your stomach hurts from eating too fast, so work on your attitude to accept the fact that you have a sensitive stomach.
Try not to think of it as bad things that need to be fixed, but so that they are just reality. You work on questions every day like what can help you change your way of thinking and don’t let your thoughts run your life.
Shift the focus to the function of your body or to something you want to spend more energy thinking about.
Redirect conversations to what makes you happy, buy jeans that will fit you well (instead of those that are too small for you and are waiting to lose weight, get rid of negative thoughts and give yourself time to focus on the strength and gratitude of what you have.
Studies have shown that practising gratitude has a positive effect on mental health. Much of body neutrality is about how to be grateful for your body in ways that are not related to appearance.
Practising it can help those who value their bodies better, as well as those who struggle with accepting their bodies.
This is a movement that emphasizes that everyone, as a person, is much more than the body itself. This means that the practice of bodily neutrality involves recognizing our value as an overall being.
If you accept the body as it is, it means that you better recognize and accept your other factors.