I used to hate myself. Especially my body.
There was a period of time where I couldn’t leave the house without mascara. I was super uncomfortable in my own skin, afraid to be seen as my authentic self.
My mind ran a stream of negative self-talk related to my outer appearance: “You look so ugly right now. Your hair frizz is outta control, why can’t you do something? Eww, look at that giant mole. And your stomach flab, so gross.”
This demeaning self-talk ran as background music at a low-level hum, often turned down too low for me to hear, and turned up to blaring any time I glanced in a mirror.
Until one day I became aware of my own cruelty-cruelty towards myself.
As a mother, I would never, ever want anyone to speak to my children in this way, so why was I accepting this kind of treatment from myself?
Using kindness as my inner rudder, I set about changing my self-image.
First, I began to separate my Being from my body.
I have a body, and I am not my body. My body is the vehicle for my soul. My body is my temple in which I get to reside. My body is a gift, a tremendous blessing that allows for me to be here on the planet. I am so grateful for my radiantly healthy body.
Viewing my consciousness as separate from my body allowed me to begin to speak to and about my own body-vehicle with so much kindness, caring, gratitude, and respect. Cherishing, even.
Some of my everyday thoughts about my body today are:
During yoga: “Look at you go, you’re so strong.” On a long walk in the woods: “Thank you, body, I’m so appreciative of your strength and stamina.” After a delicious meal: “Thank you, stomach, for allowing me to enjoy this spicy food. I appreciate you!” And looking in the mirror: “I love you, body. You are rocking it. I’m so grateful to have you.”
You are not your body. You have a physical human form which is the vessel for your soul’s conscious expression of life here on Planet Earth. As this vehicle is the one and only ride you have for this lifetime, why not begin to take exceptional care of it? Beginning with how you speak about your body to yourself.
You are beautiful just the way you are ❤️
I did a free 45 minutes closed eyes guided process recently. It’s called Love Your Body! Come join me for a deep healing experience.