How to Radically Accept Your Physical Body (Dents and All)

How to Radically Accept Your Physical Body (Dents and All)

It is time to place your attention on the wonderland, the horror-show, the carnival of delights, and the tapestry of scars, wounds, boo-boos, and bandages that is your physical body.

Let's be honest for a second: wouldn’t navigating this spiritual journey be a hell of a lot easier without these oh-so-flawed flesh-and-bone vehicles we were given to drive around in?

There is not a single one of us—okay, maybe a handful of sparkly, eighteen-year-old TikTok influencers—who doesn't have, hasn't had, or will never have deep-seated body issues. We all carry a running tally of physical complaints. We are too large. We are too thin. Too pale. Too dark. Too short. We have no ass, or too much ass. We have stubby toes, a big nose, thinning hair, crooked teeth, or funny ears. We feel bland, boring, plain, deformed, damaged, wounded, or broken.

On and on it goes, a relentless critique of the meat-suit we wear.

Driving With One Headlight

Nobody gets to claim a Superman or Superwoman body. No one gets a vehicle that never changes, never breaks down, never needs servicing, or never needs an oil change.

Most of us are driving the biological equivalent of rickety old Fords or Chevys, covered in a bunch of dings, dents, scrapes, and scratches. Personally speaking, if my body were a car, it would definitely be driving down the road with one headlight.

So, let's get one thing straight right out of the gate: we are not here to perfect, streamline, or even give your body a basic cosmetic tune-up. You can go to the gym, hire a personal trainer, or see a nutritionist for that, if that’s your thing.

We’re here to do something much more radical. We are here simply to love and accept your body, exactly as it is right now, dents and all.

Looking Under the Hood

I want you to drop out of the noisy attic of your mind and actually sink down into your physical form. Feel your feet on the floor. Feel the weight of gravity. We need to do an honest diagnostic check, and your answers need to come from the body itself, not the ego's judgment of it.

Take a look under the hood:

• Maintenance: Is your body actually healthy, or is it secretly ill, damaged, and in desperate need of repair?

• Fuel: Are you feeding it proper nutrition and giving it enough movement, or is it weak, neglected, and constantly exhausted?

• Mileage: Some days the body feels incredibly young and full of vibrant energy; other days, it feels ancient, heavy, and completely worn out. Which one are you driving today?

The Raw Sensations

Pay attention to the raw sensations of your physical form.

Is your body currently feeling good, experiencing pleasure, and sitting at peace? Or is it stressed, achy, and in physical pain? Notice if your physical form feels hot or cold. Notice if your muscles are relaxed and open, or if they feel contracted, agitated, and tight. Are you able to sit still and be comfortable in your own skin, or is your body restless, irritated, and constantly fidgeting?

The Heaviest Baggage: Acceptance vs. Rejection

Finally, we have to look at the heaviest baggage of all: how you view the vehicle itself.

Do you constantly tell your body that it is overweight, underweight, or just too skinny? Do you look in the mirror and tell it that it is ugly, or can you look at it and acknowledge that it is beautiful? Ultimately, it comes down to this: Is your body accepted, or is it rejected? Is your body hated, or is it loved?

Often, it is the most basic, hidden-in-plain-sight, obvious-to-everyone-except-ourselves aspects of our physical bodies that go entirely unnoticed, unseen, and unloved. We lie to ourselves about our health. We stay in deep denial about our physical pain. We distract ourselves from our exhaustion. And all the while, our poor bodies suffer like abandoned, neglected cars left smoking on the side of the highway.

It is time to change that.

Just do the absolute basics. Nothing fancy, nothing extreme. Give it water, give it rest, give it a walk, or just give it a break from your own relentless criticism. Like it or not, this rickety, flawed car is your only means of transportation through this life. Paying attention to it isn't vanity; it’s your only option. It doesn’t need to be a pristine, showroom-floor Porsche, but it absolutely does need to get you from point A to point B without breaking down completely. Take care of your ride.

If you are ready to stop fighting your physical form and want a grounded, neuroscientific framework to help you anchor into the present moment, I invite you to start a free trial of the Know Thyself course. It provides the exact, actionable steps you need to drop the ego's criticism and radically accept the truth of who you are.