The way we use verbs involving the body differs significantly between Spanish and English, and this difference often leads to problems among those of us speaking Spanish as a second language. Within this blog post, I use many examples to help you master Spanish reflexive verbs involving the body. 

IN ENGLISH....When describing an action involving our bodies, we use a possessive adjective (my, his, your, etc) prior to the body part.

IN SPANISH....We commonly use an indirect object pronoun (me, te, nos etc) to indicate the owner of the body. For example:

We wash our hands. >>> Nos lavamos las manos.

We wash their hands. >>> Les lavamos las manos.

IN ENGLISH... When several people are performing the action, we use the plural form of the body part.

IN SPANISH.... When each person only has one of the body part, we use the singular form of that body part. For example: 

We wash our faces. >>> Nos lavamos la cara.

REFLEXIVE VERBS: When both the subject and the owner of the body part are the same, the verb becomes reflexive. TORCERSE (to sprain) is an example of a reflexive verb: 

Me tuerzo el tobillo. (I sprain my ankle.) Te tuerces el tobillo. (You sprain your ankle.)  Se tuercen el tobillo. (He/She/Usted sprains his/her/your ankle.) Nos torcemos el tobillo. (We sprain our ankles.) Se tuercen el tobillo. (They/You(plural) sprain their/your ankles.) 

Below I have provided examples of reflexive verbs involving the entire body, parts of the body, and clothing. 

Reflexive Verbs involving the entire body (el cuerpo entero)

CAERSE (to fall)  -  Me caigo al suelo. (I fall to the ground.)

ACOSTARSE (to go to bed)  -  Los niños se acuestan. (The children go to bed.)

ECARSE (to lie down)  -  Voy a echarme un rato. (I am going to lie down for a bit.)

LEVANTARSE (to get up)  -  Paulina tiene que levantarse temprano mañana. (Paulina has to get up early tomorrow.)

DESPERTARSE (to wake up)  -  Siempre te despiertas antes que yo. (You always wake up before me.)

BAJARSE (to get down or get off)  -  Debes bajarte de la mesa ahora. (You should get off the table now.)

PARARSE (to stand)  -  ¿Puede pararse aquí, por favor? (Could you stand here please?)

SENTARSE (to sit)  -  Siéntese aquí, por favor. (Please sit here.) This is a formal command.  

INCLINARSE (to lean or bend over)  -  Ellos se inclinan y se tocan los dedos de los pies. (They bend over and touch their toes.)

APOYARSE (to lean on)  -  Nos apoyamos contra la pared. (We lean up against the wall.)

Reflexive verbs involving parts of the body (partes del cuerpo).

LAVARSE (to wash)  -  Se lavan la cara. (They wash their faces.) 

QUEBRARSE (to break)  -  Se quebró la pierna jugando al fútbol. (He broke his leg playing soccer.)

CORTARSE (to cut)  -  Siempre que corto cebolla, me corto el dedo. (Whenever I cut onion, I cut my finger.)

TORCERSE (to sprain)  -  Las niñas se tuercen el tobillo a menudo. (The little girls sprain their ankles a lot.)

RASPARSE (to scrape)  -  Se raspa el codo en la pared. (She scrapes her elbow on the wall.)

RASCARSE (to scratch)  -  Deja de rascarte la nariz. (Stop scratching your nose.)

LASTIMARSE (to hurt)  -  Me lastimo la mano. (I hurt my hand.)

TOCARSE (to touch)  -  Tócate los dedos de los pies. (Touch your toes.) 

PONERSE (to put in)  -  No te pongas la mano en la boca. (Don't put your hand in your mouth.) 

Reflexive verbs involving clothing (la ropa). 

QUITARSE (to take off)  -  Se quitan el suéter. (They take off their sweaters.)

PONERSE (to put on)  -  Me pongo los guantes. (I put on my gloves.)

ROMPERSE (to tear)  -  Las niñas se rompen la ropa cuando juegan. (The little girls rip their clothes when then play.)