I want you to think about your body as one of your children or someone else you love dearly. When was last time this person did or said something that really made you mad? In that moment, you might have been thinking “I really don’t like this person right now.” However, did his behavior cause you to stop loving him? Absolutely not! My teenager regularly acts in a way that I do not like, but I still love him. I will protect him, do what I think is best for him, and give him what he needs.

Now let’s return to your body. How often do you look at your body and think, “I do not like my legs, my hips, my butt (or whatever)”? I admit it. I do not like my thicker waist that came from my second child and being over 40. Okay fine, so it also comes from sometimes eating too much of wrong foods and not exercising consistently. It’s one thing to dislike your body. It’s something completely different to have an attitude of hatred or disgust towards your body. This attitude will cause you to mistreat your body instead of loving and honoring your body.

Your body, with all its imperfections, is sacred. It is only body you have been given for your entire life. Your body houses all organs that keep you alive. It gets you around from place to place. Your body pumps oxygen to brain that enables you to feel, think, create and function. You need to take care of your body like any relationship with a loved one. Loving and respecting your body requires same ingredients. So what can you give to your body that you would give someone you love?

1. Daily Attention To nurture a relationship, you need to pay attention to what it needs. If you ignore your loved one for a long period of time, what happens? The relationship begins to die. In order to grow my relationship with my little guy, he needs daily doses of conversation, playtime with me, and cuddling. In order to thrive, your body needs adequate sleep, proper nutrition, exercise, and plenty of water everyday. You wouldn’t go for a week without talking to your child or husband, so why would you go for a week giving your body 4-5 hours of sleep a night or regularly feeding your body foods with no nutrition? Love your body by staying conscious about how you treat it on a daily basis.

A legitimate, well-trained tattooist follows strict health guidelines and is willing to answer any of your questions about tattooing procedures and concerns.

The primary fear most people express about getting tattooed is that they may contract HIV virus, which can cause AIDS. In fact, HIV is only one of many viruses that can be transmitted. Syphilis, tuberculosis, strep, staph, and hepatitis are just a few of other diseases to take into consideration. YES, you could get these diseases from a tattoo needle.

Like many activity, tattooing is potentially dangerous, but minimizing or eliminating potential danger is not unreasonably difficult. In fact, strict code of practices takes every safety measure so risk of transmitting HIV or other diseases is virtually nonexistent.