Love Your Body Day is February 18.

Although you may not get to miss work to honor this little known holiday, still take a moment to celebrate.  According the Women’s Health Project, a whopping 80% of American women are dissatisfied with their bodies.  Between the anorexia epidemic and the obeseity epidemic and everything in between, it’s time to take a moment to stop the hate and start to love yourself, no matter how far from your ideal weight you may be.  

elements™ has created Love Your Body exercises for you to try:

1.    Look in a mirror.  Take a moment to really look at yourself.   Look at yourself as you would you look at your best friend.  No judgments, no critiques, just love.  Look past the negative things you see and try to look deeper.   Smile to yourself.   This person looking back at you has seen you through it all; marriage, children, and the 8th grade when you had a mouth full of braces.  There is that scar on your left knee from a combination of rain, your bike, stairs, and being late to the first class of sophomore year of college.  Reminisce on what you have been through in this body.  It could always be better, it could always be worse.  Focus on what you are now, and how you are beautiful.  

2.    If you more of a tactile person try affirmations.  On a piece of paper write 5 things you don’t like about your body.  Get it all out.  Vent.  Now take another sheet and write 5 things you love about your body.  This may be a little harder.  Even if #5 is your eyebrows (which you can attribute to Lori, your monthly brow waxer,) you did it.  Now take the first sheet and rip it up and throw it out.  Take the second sheet and tape it to your bathroom mirror.  This way every morning you will start out with a little self love.  For the artistically inclined, try decorating your list with photos, postcards, movie tickets, whatever it is that you and your body have done together.

3.    If this isn’t working for you, you could always belt Alanis Morissette at the top of your lungs.  I have never run into a rough patch that wasn’t curable by Alanis.  Or try the Feed The Model game. Under "Projects" on  www.loveyourbody.org

No matter how you choose to celebrate Love Your Body Day, just make sure that you do.  Be ambitious, pretend everyday is Love Your Body Day.  You only get only body in this life and it can be your worst enemy or your ally.  The decision is yours.