Cultivate A Healthy Self-Image And Positive Self-Esteem

Welcome everybody.

Thank you for joining today's meditation.

Today we're going to be focusing on cultivating a healthy self-image and healthy self-esteem by better understanding how our conditioning and our habituated response to life has shaped how we see ourselves.

So let's go ahead and settle in,

Make yourselves comfortable,

Sit up in a seated position or feel free to lie down on your back.

Let's go ahead and get started by taking a couple deep breaths in and out.

Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Inhale through your nose and exhale out your mouth.

Inhale through your nose and exhale out your mouth.

If you can,

Make the exhale just a little longer than the inhale.

It helps to tap into the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for calming the body and slowing us down.

Inhale in and exhale.

One more time,

Inhale in and a nice exhale.

Keep focusing on the breath,

Allowing the chest and the belly to rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale.

Rising on the inhale and falling on the exhale.

Let's go ahead and relax the body even deeper.

Allow yourself to breathe naturally as we start to relax the body.

Relax your mind,

Relax your forehead.

Release the tension between your eyebrows and let your jaw unclench and relax.

Relax your shoulders,

Relax your upper body,

Your arms,

Your elbows,

Your wrists,

Your hands.

Wiggle your fingertips and take a deep breath in and a nice long exhale out.

Relax your chest,

Relax your belly.

Relax your pelvis and your hips and relax your lower body,

Your legs,

Your knees,

Your ankles and your feet.

Go ahead and wiggle your toes and allow your body to just rest in its natural state.

If you're feeling any discomfort throughout the body,

Breathe into that area of pain or discomfort.

Inhale in and exhale any pain or discomfort you might be feeling.

Take a deep relaxing breath in and exhale any concern or worry that your body might be holding,

Causing you discomfort,

Pain or worry.

Inhale in and exhale.

Your body should be very relaxed.

You are feeling more calm,

More centered and more anchored within your body and your breath and with your feelings and your thoughts.

Just allow yourself to relax,

Give yourself permission to rest and to focus on your breathing and focus on relaxing the body.

If your mind wanders,

Just bring it back to the breath.

No judgment,

No criticism.

Just simply return to the breath.

Each time we drift and we bring our focus back to our breath,

We pull ourselves back into this present moment and our minds and our bodies relax to a deeper level.

Our self-image and self-esteem is typically wrapped up in a version of ourselves that we refer to as the identified self.

The identified self is the version of us that has been conditioned to think,

Feel and behave in ways that are socially acceptable,

Socially responsible and that fits in with our cultural norms.

Essentially how we feel about ourselves and how we see ourselves is a manifestation of what we're taught.

Who taught us to see ourselves in loving,

Compassionate and kind ways?

Who taught us to feel good about ourselves and to feel courageous and confident and self-assured?

For many of us,

We've had to figure this out on our own or we've had to peel back our defense mechanisms and our defensive layers to get to a place where we can even ask ourselves,

How do I truly feel about myself?

And what do I really think about myself?

The majority of us have an internal critic or automatic negative thoughts that are constantly bombarding our mind and brain,

Our central nervous system and our body with really destructive messages or unkind messages.

We see ourselves poorly and feel bad about ourselves.

We criticize.

We're the biggest critic of all.

We weren't born this way,

But we certainly learn to think,

Feel and act this way.

In order for us to cultivate a healthier,

More productive version of ourselves,

We have to forgive and we really have to accept who we are and how we got to this place.

However we got here,

It's okay.

We have to give ourselves permission to let go of the past.

And whatever version that's outdated,

We have to let that go and start creating a new version of ourselves that can support the loving,

Compassionate,

Nurturing and kind person that exists below all those defensive layers and all that conditioning and our process of internalization.

I refer to the authentic self as that person that's buried deep underneath our defensive layers.

Once we're able to let go of our defense mechanisms,

We're able to act in more vulnerable,

Courageous and compassionate ways.

And that's when we start to realize who we really are.

And that's how we start to feel better about ourselves and see ourselves with a more positive regard.

Let's go ahead and take a deep breath in and exhale out.

Inhale through your nose and exhale out your mouth.

One more time,

Inhale in and exhale.

Learning to see ourselves in a more positive way is essential to becoming the person that we so desire and deserve to be.

So we must find ways to be gentler and more compassionate and loving and nurturing to ourselves so that we can start to condition ourselves in a different way.

Every time we challenge ourselves to see ourselves in a more holistic and healthy way or to feel better about ourselves,

To feel more patient and loving,

We start to record over the outdated narrative that we've been carrying around for so long.

It takes practice and we need to be patient with ourselves but consistent with ourselves.

Take a deep breath in and exhale out.

Self affirmation and self direction are critical components to changing how we feel and how we see ourselves.

Repeat silently to yourself,

I love myself.

I am happy with myself.

I am proud of myself.

I am courageous.

I am compassionate.

I am patient.

I am kind.

I am perfect just the way I am.

Continue repeating to yourself,

I see a restored version of me.

I see happiness.

I see security.

I see confidence.

I see beauty.

I see gentleness.

And I see love.

As we start to pull our awareness back to this moment,

It's so important that we remind ourselves the power that we have to change those outdated narratives through more positive self affirmation and productive self direction,

Giving ourselves permission to treat ourselves the way we would treat other people and our friends with kindness and compassion and acceptance.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

Deep breath in and exhale.

Bring your hands to the prayer position at your chest and let your thumbs fall and touch your heart chakra.

Thank you for spending this time with me.

Thank you for focusing on yourself today and giving yourself permission to see yourself differently and to feel differently about yourself.

Getting closer and closer to that perfect,

Authentic being that you are.

Be well,

Take care,

And Namaste.