Finding a comfortable seat,
And closing down your eyes.
Taking a deep breath in through your nose,
And letting it go out through your mouth.
And do that again,
In through your nose,
And when you exhale just let it go,
Allowing yourself to arrive here.
Right here in this moment.
Letting go of what came before this,
And letting go of what still awaits you after.
You don't need to do or fix anything right now.
You simply have to be.
Feeling your body touching the ground or the surface underneath you.
The support underneath your seat.
The weight of your hands resting gently on your thighs or in your lap.
And with every exhale you allow your body to soften.
Your shoulders,
Your jaw,
Your belly.
Letting your breath move slower,
Lower,
And deeper.
Like a wave washing through you.
Now bring your attention to your body.
Not as something to be judged or controlled,
But as the home that has carried you through every season of your life.
As the vessel that has allowed you to experience life in all its fullness through all those years.
The vessel that has allowed you to live,
To laugh,
To love,
To hurt,
To cry,
To move.
This body has carried you through it all and has been your most and only reliable partner.
And right now you don't have to love every single part of it.
But just notice it.
The rise and the fall of your chest.
The gentle pulse beneath your skin.
The warmth,
The aliveness,
The quiet hum of your existence.
The space your body takes up in space.
Own that space.
Breathing into that,
This miracle of being alive in this body,
In this moment.
And if thoughts come up,
Judgments,
Memories,
Comparisons,
That's okay.
You can imagine placing them on pretty autumn leaves and allowing them to float down a slow moving river.
You don't have to fight those judgments and memories.
Just let them pass on that river.
You've spent years being told how your body should look,
How it should age,
Or better not age,
How it should change.
But your body was never meant to be perfect.
It was meant to be yours.
It was meant to be lived in,
Felt,
Experienced,
Cherished.
Not measured or compared.
Now place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.
And take a couple of deep breaths into your palms,
Feeling your beautiful body hum underneath your hands.
And then softly whispering to yourself,
I am learning to make peace with my body.
I am allowed to exist exactly as I am today.
I am learning to trust my body.
I am learning to love this body that has been mine all along.
My body is my home,
Even when it doesn't feel like it yet.
I am learning to live with my body,
Not against it.
I am allowed to exist without trying to shrink or change or perfect myself.
My body deserves kindness,
Not punishment.
It is safe for me to be in my body.
My worth is not measured by my reflection in the mirror.
I am loved for all that I am.
I am allowed to rest,
To eat delicious,
Nourishing food and to take up space.
I am loved because I am born,
Not because of how I look.
I thank my body for carrying me through pain,
Even when I didn't thank her before.
I am allowed to appreciate what my body can feel,
Not just how she looks.
I forgive myself for the times I turned away from my body.
My body and I are learning to be friends again.
I nourish my body because she deserves care,
Not control.
My beauty deepens as I age.
It's the story of a life fully lived.
My body changes and that is proof I am alive and evolving and always growing.
I am whole,
Worthy and radiant in every season of my life.
My softness is not my weakness,
It is wisdom.
The more I listen,
The more my body guides me home.
I honor the cycles,
The scars and the stories my body carries.
Dear body,
I love you.
I love you.
And if difficult feelings arise right now,
Let them be.
Keep breathing into your palms and sending love through those palms into this beautiful body of yours.
She is your vessel.
She is your partner in crime for this lifetime.
So love her.
Love her.
Love her.
Feel your hands warming your skin.
And let your touch be a reminder that you are not separate from this body.
You are this body.
And she has been waiting for your tenderness,
For your love,
For your acceptance.
Now think of all the versions of you this body has helped.
The little girl who was full of wonder.
The teenager who didn't know who she was and just tried to fit in.
The woman who built a life she thought she wanted and the world wanted for her.
The woman who lived,
Loved,
Rose,
Fell down,
Was rejected,
Abandoned,
Hurt and got back up.
Every line,
My love.
Every curve.
Every scar.
Every wrinkle.
They're stories.
Your stories.
They are proof of your becoming.
You are becoming she.
So come to love all these lines,
Curves,
Wrinkles.
You are learning to love yourself and your body through every season.
Offer yourself grace in this process.
Now allow a sense of gratitude to wash through you for everything your body has endured.
And for how she continues to show up for you.
Even when you couldn't love her back.
Breathe that in.
Let it fill every cell.
And as you sit here,
Imagine your body being bathed in golden light.
A soft,
Warm,
Forgiving light that wraps around you,
All of you.
Reminding you that you are whole.
Not because of how you look,
But simply because you exist.
Now take one more deep,
Gentle breath in.
And a deep breath out.
And exhale everything that no longer serves.
And when you're ready,
You can begin to wiggle your fingers.
Your toes.
And slowly coming back to the space around you.
And noticing the space that you take up in the room that you're in.
And loving every single part of that space.
Keeping the softness with you.
And a quiet knowing that you are enough.
You have always been enough.
And your body,
She has been on your side all along.
