If you are ready to take the next step, start small: Tomorrow morning, look in the mirror and say, "I am going to treat you with dignity today, no matter what." Then drink a glass of water, go for a five-minute stretch, and see what happens.

When we cultivate a positive body image, we're more likely to prioritize our overall well-being. By embracing self-care and self-love, we can:

Elara was thirty-four, a graphic designer with calloused fingers from too much charcoal smudging, and a body that had birthed one child, survived two heartbreaks, and carried her through three cross-country moves. Her stomach was soft, her thighs bore the topography of stretch marks like river deltas, and her arms jiggled when she laughed too hard. She had spent most of her twenties trying to shrink herself—into dresses, into diets, into the spaces between other people’s opinions.