A Meditation To Appreciate Your Body

Sometimes - feeling love or even liking our body can seem out of reach. In those times, we can strive to at least learn how to appreciate our body: for what it can do and how it allows us to live our lives.

Join Courtney, a Body Image Coach, for this guided meditation.

Transcript

So whenever you're ready, I want you to get into a position that feels comfortable for you, Whether that's in a seated position, Whether that's lying down. I want you to either close your eyes or soften your gaze and start to just become aware of and follow your breath, Noticing your inhale, Feeling the belly rise, And noticing your exhale, Feeling the belly fall. And for today's meditation, If it feels accessible and comfortable for you, I want to invite you to place your hands on your body. Some of my favorite positions are either having one or both of my hands on my chest. I love to also have my left hand on my chest and my right hand on my belly. But maybe even this could be as simple as just having your palms facing down, Resting your hands on your lap. And without judgment or shame, With an open mind and a sense of curiosity in this moment, I want you to just notice how your body feels. It could be as simple as noticing the sensations under your hands. So maybe it's seeing if you can feel the heartbeat, The speed, The rhythm. Maybe it's noticing the texture of your skin. Maybe it's even just noticing the warmth and the temperature of your body. And when you're ready, I want you to think of one thing, Just one thing that in this moment, Right now, You appreciate about your body. And I'm choosing that word, Appreciate, Because maybe it's not quite something that you like or that you love yet, Just something that you are thankful for, Something that you can acknowledge. This could be something that you and your body do together, Something that your body allows you to do, Or it could be your favorite body part, Your favorite aspect to your body. Maybe you like your eyes or appreciate the texture of your hair. And with your next few breaths, I want you to just breathe in that energy of appreciation and notice how it makes you feel in your body. And can we take that thought of appreciation, Whether you want to use the same thing or find something new? Can you take a moment to speak with your body and say thank you for something, Speaking to it as if it's your friend or if it's someone standing in front of you? And you can do this inside your head, But I really also want to invite you to try to say it out loud, To use your voice and feel the power that comes with that. Once again, Notice how this expression of gratitude changes the energy in your body. How does it make you feel in this moment? With your next few breaths, Just breathe in that energy of gratitude and thanks. And my last question of reflection for you today in this meditation before we move forward is to think about what comes next moving forward into the rest of your day. What is one thing that you can do today, One way that you can choose kindness towards your body or maybe even showing it love? What's one choice that you can make? One thing that you can do, Maybe this is just changing a thought that you have. Maybe it's how you choose your nourishment today. Maybe it's how you choose your movement or how you spend your time. And if you feel comfortable, Once again, I want to invite you to say this out loud to yourself like you are making a promise to your body. Today I promise to filling in that blank with your own individualized commitment, Your own individualized act of kindness or choice of love. Taking a moment to notice how making this promise and commitment once again impacts your body. How does it change the energy? How does it make you feel? If you want to stay with your breath and stay with your body a little while longer, Know that you absolutely have permission to do so. You can just continue to breathe as I close out our session. Otherwise when you're ready, Let's add in a little bit of movement. Whatever feels good to you in your body today, Whether that's wiggling your fingers, Wiggling your toes, Wiggling your nose, Bringing the corner of your lips into a smile or one of my favorite ways to end this kind of meditation is just giving yourself a big old bear hug. Wrapping your arms around your body, Giving it just a little squeeze, Maybe a little rub. And then when you're ready, Gently releasing the arms down, Rolling the shoulders down and back and opening up your eyes coming back to the present moment. Thank you for spending this time with me today. And on behalf of your body, Thank you for making the commitment moving forward to choose love and to choose kindness.