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If you could permanently live behind that flattering Instagram filter or perhaps cast a spell to transform your body, would you? Chances are, you sometimes struggle to be at peace with what you see in the mirror – we all do. But if you find that this is a recurring issue that you can’t seem to get over, then maybe it’s time to take action and start kicking those body issues in the ass.
One way to get over your body issues is to start training martial arts, but we aren’t here to talk about how that is going to help sculpt your body (although that is definitely a result of training!) – because there’s so much more to martial arts than that. In fact, if you talk to your friends who train, you’ll find out that martial arts has taught them to respect their bodies and embrace imperfection.
Today, Evolve Daily shares 5 Ways Martial Arts Helps You To Get Over Body Issues:
1) It teaches you to be kind to yourself
Be honest, how often do you beat yourself up whenever you’re having a bad day, or when you make bad decisions? Unfortunately, each time you do this, you’re actually making matters worse, because you’re not helping matters and also ruining your mood in the process.
However, training martial arts would teach you to be patient with yourself, especially in those moments where you’re struggling with your obstacles. What’s more, you would learn to accept the fact that you’re a work-in-progress, and that it’s okay to not be perfect. That means you would learn to embrace your flaws and accept yourself for all that you are.
2) It encourages you to make healthier choices
There’s no doubt that training would influence your daily choices – from your meals, to bedtime and even your Friday night plans. After all, you wouldn’t want to affect your body negatively by digging in to that cheeseburger or sleeping for 4 hours after an intense training session.
When you focus on becoming your healthiest self, you would notice that you’re much happier – because you would learn that being healthy doesn’t mean that you must look a certain way. In fact, it is how you feel and ultimately the fact that you’re taking care of your body the way it should be taken care of.
3) It develops your self-confidence
The further you progress in your martial arts journey, the more confidence you would gain – especially when you nail down challenging techniques and ultimately get stronger. What’s more, you would be able to thrive outside your comfort zone and protect yourself in real life situations.
When your confidence increases, you would learn to stop with the self loathing and start loving and accepting yourself. After all, you’ll realize that there’s no point in feeding that negative inner voice when all it does is hold you back and prevent you from being your awesome self!
4) It shows you the importance of listening to your body
Whether it’s the fact that you need to eat some energy boosting foods to get over that sluggish feeling, or to take a break after those consecutive workouts, one thing’s for sure – you would get better at listening to your body and making the best decisions for yourself.
Apart from that, you would understand your body on a deeper level and as a result, learn to treat it with the love and respect it deserves. When this happens, you would stop focusing on the parts you dislike and instead, appreciate yourself as a whole person.
5) It enables you to appreciate what your body can do
Think about it: without your body, you wouldn’t be able to do anything – let alone exist. Unfortunately, it’s easy to take it for granted, since you’ve always had it, at no cost whatsoever. However, this would change when you train martial arts, as you would realize that you aren’t able to throw those strikes or execute your favorite submissions without your body! As a result, you would appreciate your body on a whole new level – flaws and all.
It may not be easy to get over those body issues, but know that it’s not impossible. And now that you know of a way you can help yourself to embrace your body the way it is, why not try it? Go to your nearest martial arts gym and start training!
