Love Your Body, Love Your Life - A Review of the New Book by Sarah Maria
by KayOctober 20 2009
Self acceptance is a constant learning curve even once we grasp the basic concept. Self acceptance is a process in which we grow, evolve and change the mindset that has been holding us back all this time. We discover things we never knew before about who we are, what we want and how to attain our desires. Upon realizing how liberating it is to set ourselves free of all the negative thought processes that inhibit our lifes, the light shines brighter and we can clearly see the direction we need to take.
When the words ‘self acceptance’ are spoken or printed anywhere, my ears and eyes perk up and I take interest in what someone has to say about his or her own experiences learning to let go of a negative self-concept.
My own self acceptance journey has allowed me to continue discovering the power of my own positive thinking and the limitless opportunities that are available to me. More and more, I have the ability to purposefully tap into those opportunities. To keep this journey moving forward, I make a point of reading and reviewing self-improvement books exclusively because I find that they provide me with both stimulation and relaxation.
Recently, I had the pleasure of reading a book by body image expert and author Sarah Maria called 
The more I read, the more I was reassured that the author had, without a doubt, done her homework. It would take way too much time and space to capture all of my favorite points about this insightful literary creation, so I’ll summarize and let you form your own opinion after you read it for yourself.
Negative Body Obsession (NBO) is a term used throughout the book and it describes the dissatisfied feelings one has towards her body. But the question Maria raises and the way she challenges NBO is by asking how we cannot love something that serves us so well every day in all that we do? As the author states, “NBO makes it difficult to accept the present,” and “The resistance you have toward your body – and anything else in your life – is what prevents you from making the changes you want and fulfilling your intentions.” She goes on to say that, “Accepting the present does not mean you will not or cannot change. In fact, that is absolutely impossible because everything is constantly changing.”
From personal conversations with people in my life, I’ve found that others tend to think that if you live in a blissful state of self-acceptance then you just give up and avoid trying to improve your life and grow as a person. In my opinion, it’s quite the opposite. Self acceptance is the beginning of molding your life into the one you want to and deserve to live.
The exercises that Sarah Maria provides throughout the book are simple and effective and inspire a much needed degree of self-reflection designed to help you “identify and detach from your destructive thoughts.” She explains that simply thinking positive thoughts is not enough because we have programmed our minds to operate in such a negative pattern all these years. Her writing style creatively employs metaphors that help re-program our minds to find beauty in and around us.
One of the most powerful points of the book for me was the discussion of forgiveness. You must first forgive yourself for overindulging, judging yourself too harshly or hurting yourself emotionally, mentally and physically. Then, you must forgive others because, “If you are unable to forgive someone, you are the one who will suffer.” The effects on our relationships are covered in detail, an aspect of the book that offers value not only to those who live with NBO, but also to others that suffer from the damage brought on by NBO.
Love Your Body, Love Your Life is a great read, and I suggest savoring it and participating in the exercises to benefit the most from it. I’m actually going through the book a second time to drill down further with some of my favorite chapter exercises that I marked for quick reference. This is not a book that will gather dust on my shelf: it’s a keeper and a life-long guide for my continuing journey to love my body and love my life.
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