Learning to Let Your Body Be Enough This Summer

I was queuing up a video on YouTube the other day, and was suddenly hit by the inescapably loud advertising that autoplayed at the start. With a pumping soundtrack I was suddenly looking at lithe, bikini-and-boardshorts-clad bodies frolicking on a sunny beach. As is the aim with most advertising, it was jarring, to say the least. And whilst I couldn’t even tell you what product it was advertising, I do remember being struck by the implicit message: this (i.e. thin, muscled, and able-bodied) is what fun looks like.

It was 10 years ago that a body-shaming advert about being ‘beach ready’ was banned from the UK for the damaging message it represented. However, based on my recent advertising experience, clearly we haven’t come as far as perhaps we’d have liked in that time.

But what if this season could be an opportunity to reconnect with your body in a healthier way? To shift from evaluating your body to actually being in it?

I want to explore with you how to disrupt the toxic marketing about what your body “should” be in summer (or any other time of year for that matter), and instead give you permission to enjoy living in your body instead.

Why Summer Changes How We Feel About Our Bodies

Diet Culture Increases During Summer

“Beach body” messaging, “summer shredding,” and detox trends crowd social media and advertising in the leadup to summer. This creates pressure that can intensify shame or self-criticism, reinforcing messages about the ideal body type.

Visibility Can Feel Vulnerable

Summer clothing often exposes more skin and shows more of our body than winter clothing does. Obviously, this is to keep us cool through those 30+ degree days. But this can leave us feeling more visible than we are used to, which can in turn lead to a sense of being scrutinised (whether or not people are actually looking at our bodies as much as it feels like they are).

Comparison Increases in Social Environments

Increased opportunities to socialise at pool parties, picnics, beaches, and social gatherings more broadly can amplify comparisons with others. Even if we don’t want to compare, our brains are wired to compare ourselves to others in our environment, making this a tough one to avoid entirely.

Body Memories Return

Summer can also evoke memories of past comments, discomfort in swimwear, or times we felt judged. These emotional echoes can then colour how we feel in the present as our brain searches for signs that history could be about to repeat itself.

All these different factors come together to create a perfect storm for body image anxiety.

Reframing Summer from Appearance to Experience

Instead of centring our experience of our bodies in summer around appearance, we can instead approach it as a season for embodiment. Embodiment means sensing, feeling, and living inside the body rather than looking at it from the outside.

This shifts the question from:

“How do I look in this body?”
to
“What do I feel as I live in this body right now?”

Although a seemingly small shift, the second question repositions your body’s value away from its appearance. Instead, it focusses on the role your body plays in how you experience your life.

This change in perspective can support a more peaceful relationship with your body, especially during a season where self-judgement can easily creep in.

Learning to Embody: Tuning in Through the Senses

Sensory experiences are one of the easiest ways to anchor back into your body, especially in summer when there are lots of sensory experiences that can be pleasant to notice.

Temperature

Notice contrasts. Cool water on warm skin, an evening breeze blowing across your face, or the blast of cooling air-conditioning when you get into a hot car. These contrasts create grounding sensations that help you feel present.

Touch

Sand between your toes, grass underfoot, smooth sunscreen on your arms, the weight of a towel or loose cotton clothing. These textures can help you reconnect with your body as something lived in.

Sound

Sound can draw you back into your environment and distract from looping body image thoughts. Notice sounds you don’t get to hear in other seasons, like waves, birds, cicadas, ice cubes clinking, or the Hottest 100!

Light

Golden evening light, dappled shade, the brightness of a sunny morning, long sunsets. Summer is filled with bright light that we often take for granted. By focussing on pleasant visual sensations we can bring a bit of gratitude to our daily experience.

Top Tip: You can read more about how to use your senses to ground and soothe yourself here.

Notice how your body lets you experience different sensations, and how this helps you do things that you love. And on that note…

Let Your Body Be a Participant, Not a Project

Diet and gym culture frames the body as something to ‘fix’, something that could be performing better by some metric (‘thinner’, ‘tighter’, able to do more reps, run further). Summer intensifies this message, pushing people toward short-term transformations or “quick results.”

An alternative is seeing your body as an active participant in your summer, not a project to work on.

Think of the things your body allows you to do in summer: swim, sleep in, pick up kids, carry groceries, unwrap presents, hug people you care about, sit in the shade, feel a warm night breeze, eat seasonal fruit, laugh until your stomach aches.

None of these require looking a certain way.

 Slow Down Body Judgement When It Shows Up

Unfortunately, despite anyone’s best efforts at embodiment, self-criticism will likely still appear. That’s ok, that’s human. What matters is how you respond to it.

Name the Thought as a Thought, Not the Truth

Instead of “My body is wrong,” try “I’m having a body-critical thought right now.”

This creates distance and allows a gentler response.

Notice What Triggered It

Was it heat, clothing, a comment, memory, mental comparison, exhaustion? Understanding the trigger reduces shame and shows that the criticism is only a reaction to something, planting a seed of doubt as to how true it is.

Redirect to an Experience

When you catch a harsh thought, shift toward sensation:

What can I feel against my skin right now? What sounds can I notice? What’s one gentle thing my body is doing for me?

This interrupts the spiral and redirects your thoughts away from an appearance-centric state of mind.

Protect Your Peace Around Others

It’s unfortunate but worth acknowledging that not everyone has safe or supportive people around them in summer. You may need to protect your emotional space.

Limit Exposure to Conversations About Bodies

Steer discussions away from dieting, appearance, weight, and “beach body” commentary. You can redirect gently: “I’m trying to focus on enjoying the day rather than talking about bodies.”

Likewise, curate your social media, and mute, unfollow, or pause accounts that make you feel worse. Summer is a good time for a digital refresh.

Choose Settings that Feel Safe

Some people feel better in quieter beaches, shady spots, or wearing coverups — this is absolutely okay. Emotional safety is very important and helps facilitate embodiment.

Let Summer Support Your Relationship with Your Body

Summer doesn’t have to be a season of fixing or fighting your body. It can be a time to practise letting it be enough, just as it is. You don’t need to love your body or feel confident all the time to enjoy your life. You only need to let yourself live in it, rather than constantly judging it.

If body image thoughts show up, that doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It means you’re human. Each time you gently redirect back to comfort, sensation, and experience, you’re choosing connection over criticism.

Remember your body is not here to be looked at. It’s here to help you feel the warmth, the water, the laughter, the moments of connection, and the joy of being alive.

~

If you often struggle with unhelpful thoughts or distress, we have a post on managing triggers here, and you can read more about the way culture shapes our relationship with our bodies in our post on The Unexpected Benefits of Nudity. You can also hear the wonderful Brené Brown talk about recovering from body shame with Sonya Renee Taylor in this podcast episode.