I might encourage you to check in with your body today with that salutation.
Hello,
Hello body,
Welcome.
Welcome all of the parts of me that are here and present today and all of the parts of me that are not.
Hello breath,
Welcome,
An inhale and an exhale.
Maybe another inhale.
Hello to all of the thoughts buzzing through my head.
Welcome stillness and quiet.
Hello body sensations of all sorts.
Ones that I might like and ones that I might not.
Welcoming a non-judgmental attitude toward.
Today we're going to focus our attention on self-worth.
Many people have different definitions of what this word means.
But at its core,
Self-worth means valuing our intrinsic worth despite our flaws.
R.
H.
Sin,
A poet,
Says,
There are these moments when your eyes meet your reflection.
Moments when the palms of your hands rest softly on your skin.
Your top and bottom lips meet like a kiss.
Understand that those moments are a way for you to return to yourself.
It is a return to home.
It is a return to peace.
A return to magic.
And so today I want us to focus on our magic.
Who we are intrinsically despite the flaws.
It can be really difficult sometimes to focus on our inherent self-worth outside of what we do.
Outside of the roles we play day to day.
But today we get to strip all of that away and find one little tiny glimmer of our self-worth and root ourselves in that today.
So as we begin,
I want you to focus on your breathing.
Notice the rise and fall of your chest or your belly or maybe somewhere in between.
Notice how deep or shallow.
Notice how long or short your inhale or exhale is in this moment.
I want you to go back in time.
In your mind's eye.
And remember a time when you were fully and completely and totally yourself.
For some of you this might be a millisecond of a moment.
For some of you this might be a weekend experience or a time where you were playing with your children.
Or a time when you were having a deep conversation or a time where you got to do exactly what you wanted to do.
Find that moment.
Find that time.
Find that millisecond where everything just felt exactly as it should be.
And in your mind's eye,
I invite you to look around in that image,
In that experience,
In that millisecond.
What do you see?
Look out in front of you.
Look up above you.
Look down and look side to side.
And then turn all the way around and see what's behind you.
Pay attention to colors,
Objects,
People,
Items.
Get curious.
What is it about this experience that felt so connected to who you are?
If you need longer to see,
Pause the recording and take as long as you need.
Now check in with your sense of touch.
What do you feel?
What can you actually touch in this image,
This experience,
This millisecond of time?
What are the textures that you notice?
Some might be soft or smooth or rough or textured.
Now check in with your sense of hearing.
What sounds do you notice in this image or experience?
Maybe you hear music or people talking or their laughter.
Maybe you hear nature,
The sound of wind or water or birds.
What is it about those sounds?
Now notice your sense of smell.
What do you smell in this image or experience?
Is it floral and light?
Is it damp,
Musty,
Earthy?
Maybe it's a man-made fragrance.
What is it about those particular smells that feel so true to the core,
To the essence of who you are?
And then check in with your sense of taste.
In this image or experience,
What do you taste?
Maybe it's a favorite beverage or snack or meal.
Or maybe there's a particular flavor that just feels right.
Take a few breaths intentionally here,
Breathing in everything you can see,
Touch,
Hear,
Smell,
And taste.
Then I'm going to invite you to allow yourself to sit with a simple part of a sentence that can be so meaningful.
I am.
A lot of people in our lives tell us who we are.
It is really powerful to claim who you are for yourself.
I am statements are things we proclaim over ourselves.
They remind us of who we are in the midst of challenge.
Things as simple as I am brave or I am loved.
Or I am meaningful.
Or I am a change maker.
As well as things like I am sea salt.
Or I am grapefruit and rosemary.
Or I am my mom's homemade lasagna.
While those aren't characteristics necessarily,
They can give us a sense of who we are.
With depth and richness that characteristics don't always give.
So today I invite you to claim who you are in whatever way that resonates.
I am.
When you find your I am,
On an inhale,
We're going to inhale our I am statement.
And on our exhale,
We're going to exhale anything that we have heard that is contrary to what we're claiming today.
So we're going to intentionally let go of the way people have labeled or named us.
And with each inhale,
We are going to claim who we are.
After taking a few rounds of breath,
Bring to mind an item that you already own that you can imbue with this I am statement.
In essence that when you look at it or when you wear it,
You'll remember this I am statement.
You might even write down the I am statement and put it somewhere where you can see it.
And commit to yourself that every time you wear an item of clothing that you're imbuing with this I am statement,
Or every time you see the object that you're imbuing with this I am statement,
Or anytime you look at the I am statement you're going to write,
That you will breathe it in,
That you will inhale it,
That it will become a part of your bones,
Your marrow,
Your muscle,
Your brain.
And then it becomes true.
And it becomes accessible.
And it becomes who you really are.
As we close this practice today,
If it feels comfortable placing a hand over your heart,
Picturing that I am statement one last time,
And sending that I am statement directly from your hand into your heart.
May you walk in the truth of who you are.
