Welcome,
I am Joni and this is a practice of self-love and body love.
This is a practice to help us celebrate our bodies as they are in this moment,
Our faces as they are in this moment,
For us to appreciate and have gratitude of everything our body has done for us across the lifespan.
So let's get started.
Sit comfortably or lie down.
Once you're in that comfortable position,
Take a deep breath.
Allow your body to relax.
And I'm going to invite you to place your hands on certain parts of the body.
You're welcome to do that or if you prefer,
Just hold that part of the body in your mind.
We're going to begin with the heart center.
So place one hand or both hands at your heart center.
Bring your attention inside to your heart,
To this wonderful literal organ that beats for you every day,
Every minute,
Every hour.
Whether you pay attention to it or not,
It keeps beating for you,
Giving you life,
Allowing you to do all the things that you love to do.
This beautiful heart that has been hurt,
That has been broken,
That has experienced loss and sadness,
But that's also experienced love.
A heart that's also experienced gratitude and joy.
This beautiful heart that enables us to feel all the unpleasant and the pleasant things that life has to offer.
Say thank you to your heart.
Bring your hand or hands to your head.
And I invite you to focus on your brain.
Your brain,
This beautiful organ that is in charge of our bodies and keeping our bodies running with so many functions that we don't even know it keeps going even when we're sleeping.
To this beautiful brain that though it might be overactive,
Though sometimes it might overthink,
It can help us solve problems.
It can help us form thoughts and words that we can communicate to others.
It can help us to focus.
Thank you,
My beautiful brain.
Bring your hands to your face and just gently cup your face and your hands.
And be thankful for this face and all the little laugh lines you might have,
All the little times you've smiled.
Even if you've criticized your face,
Even if it's not exactly the way you wish it were,
Be thankful for your eyes that can see,
For how your face is structured because it's how the people who love you can recognize you.
Be thankful for all the time that's passed and given you this beautiful face just as it is.
Bringing your hands to your ears and just cupping your hands around your ears.
Be thankful for your sense of hearing that enables you to hear music,
That enables you to hear these words,
The voices of those you love,
Birds chirping outside on a spring day,
All the beautiful sounds as well as other sounds that maybe keep you safe.
Thank you,
My ears.
Bringing your hands to your throat very lightly and just humming a little to feel and hear your voice.
Thank you to your voice.
Thank you,
My voice,
For giving me the ability to speak my thoughts,
To speak my emotions,
To express who I am,
What I need,
What I want.
Thank you,
My voice,
For giving me the ability to sing even if I don't like my voice all the time.
Without it,
I wouldn't be able to share what I want and need to share with the world.
Bringing your hands to your ribcage,
The front of the ribcage or the sides of the ribcage and taking a deep breath.
Thank you,
My breath,
My ribs,
My lungs,
My diaphragm,
The whole respiratory system.
The respiratory system helps to keep you alive like your heart.
When you're not thinking about it,
Your body breathes for you.
Minute by minute,
Hour by hour,
Day by day,
Your body is breathing,
Keeping you going.
Thank you to this beautiful breath that we know can help us shift out of a certain mood.
Our breath can help us to feel calmer.
Our breath can energize us when we learn different breathing practices.
The breath can help us transform on a path to where we want and need to be.
Thank you,
My breath.
Bringing your hands to your belly and being thankful for this belly,
Even if it's not exactly the way you want it to be.
Even if you've had struggles with your belly and your digestive system,
Be thankful for your belly as it is because it's yours and you've earned it.
Be thankful for your digestive system that helps you to nourish your whole body by assimilating everything we need from the food that we eat.
Say thank you,
My digestive system.
Thank you for helping to keep me nourished.
Thank you for processing all the healthy food that I've sent your way and the not so healthy food I've sent your way.
Thank you for keeping me going and giving me energy.
Bring your hands to your legs and even rub your hands along your thighs,
Feeling your legs and awareness to your legs,
Your knees,
Your lower legs,
Your ankles,
Your feet,
And saying thank you to your legs.
Thank you,
My legs,
For carrying me where I need and want to go,
For helping me walk such long distances across my life,
For helping me to run,
To dance,
To feel grounded.
Thank you,
My legs,
Even if you've given me some trouble from time to time,
Even if there's been some injuries or problems or difficulties,
I'm so grateful for you for giving me the ability to move and bringing your hands around to your low back and saying thank you to your back.
Thank you,
My back,
For carrying the burden of everything that I've had to carry physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally in this life.
You've kept me upright,
You've kept me going through all those difficult times.
I'm grateful.
Even if you've given me some trouble,
Even if I've had pain here,
I'm so grateful for you for keeping me solid.
Bringing your hands now to the tops of your shoulders,
The place where we all hold tension,
Taking a deep breath here.
Thank you to my shoulders for carrying the weight of the world,
For carrying my sorrows,
My stress,
For literally helping my arms to embrace those I love.
Thank you to my shoulders,
Even if I've had pain here,
Even if there's been some struggles or difficulties here,
My shoulders help me also to remain upright,
To stand proud,
To stand tall,
And I'm so grateful.
Allowing your hands now to clasp each other,
Just to cup one hand and another,
And to bring your awareness to your hands,
To your hands that do so much work for you.
Thank you,
My hands,
For being there to write,
To type,
To do all kinds of communicative work for me.
Thank you,
My hands,
For preparing meals,
For gardening,
For playing,
For working,
For touching those I love,
For petting and snuggling my pets.
I'm so thankful for my hands.
Thank you,
My hands,
For everything that you do.
Taking another deep breath in and out.
Thank you,
My whole body.
I love you just as you are.
My whole body,
This body that has been the home for my being.
I am so grateful that you've been with me to carry me through one experience to the next.
Thank you,
My body.
I love you.
I love you and I promise to be kind to you,
To give you what you need,
And to never speak ill of you again.
Thank you,
My body.
Take a deep breath.
Let it go.
As you feel ready,
Just wiggle your fingers and toes,
Those small movements,
Savoring them.
Take a big stretch in some way,
Stretch,
And then let it go.
And feel your body filled with light.
Feel it filled with love.
Do this practice again and again to remind you of all the beauty and all the wonderful things that you can be grateful for about your body.
Thank you for joining me.
Love your body.
Love yourself.
Take care.
