Hi,
This is Sam Sesiman and I've created this meditation for every human that has ever felt ashamed of their body.
For every person who has attempted to change or shrink or manipulate their body in hopes of finding acceptance.
As you listen to these words,
All emotions are welcome.
Doubt,
Discomfort,
Disagreement.
If they begin to rise,
Just notice them and then bring your attention back to my voice.
Do your best to approach this practice with curiosity.
It's an experiment in trying to have a different kind of relationship with your body.
Let's start by getting an image in your mind's eye of a time when you needed to hear that your body was okay just as it was.
Maybe you see yourself just as you sit here today.
Or maybe it's the first time you thought your body was bad,
Different,
Or not good enough.
Notice that image without judgment and allow your body to start to relax.
Letting your shoulders fall,
Your breathing slows,
Shutting off every muscle in your body as much as you can.
Then you may notice the person in the image doing the same,
Allowing deep,
Slow breaths in and out,
Body relaxing,
Thoughts slowing down.
As you listen,
Allowing your present self and the image of yourself to soak up what it can out of these following messages.
What if someone taught me as a little child that my worth did not lie in my physical appearance?
What would I have focused on instead?
What qualities,
Traits,
Or hobbies,
Or aspects of me could have bloomed if I knew my body was the least important thing about me?
What if when I was little and tender and full of curiosity,
Someone helped me find the innate strength and beauty of my natural body?
Would I have had more confidence?
Would I have been more daring?
What would I have been capable of if I knew these things from the start?
What if as a child,
Adults helped me focus on the incredible abilities my body did have instead of focusing on what I couldn't do?
What would have been different about my childhood or about my adult life if I had focused on and grown my strengths?
What if as a child,
I was taught about the beauty in difference and that our bodies were designed to vary from one another?
When I walked into a room,
How would I have felt?
Would I have moved and played without inhibitions?
What if I could go back in time and wipe away every attack my body's appearance ever received?
If all of those scars were gone and no longer taking up space inside of me,
What would I have chosen to fill that space with?
What would I say to myself if I could go back in time?
Maybe I would teach myself that just because others and society are fixated on physical appearance doesn't mean that I have to be.
That there are others out there that already love themselves just how they are and they're waiting for me to join them.
I would teach myself that others will criticize my body and others,
But I would equip myself with armor made of love and self-acceptance so that I could endure those words that are merely a reflection of the other person's fears and insecurities.
I would apologize for internalizing those criticisms.
I would apologize for taking others' voices and making them my own,
But I am capable of releasing those beliefs that were never meant to be mine in the first place.
I would teach myself that my body is lovable just as it was and is today.
I would teach myself that my body is deserving just as it was and is today.
That my body's abilities do not define my worth.
That my body's health does not make me better or worse than anyone else.
I would teach myself that I am capable of accepting,
Loving,
And celebrating my body even when it feels hard or unnatural at the start.
So just notice how these words settle into you and the image of you.
If there are parts of this or certain sentiments that were very hard to hear or feel like they were true,
That's natural.
If there were certain parts that you held onto that felt good or that you want to make into a new belief,
That's great too.
Find that peace that felt right,
Whether it be that bodies are meant to be different or that your body is worthy or that your body is lovable and breathe life into that new belief.
Let it travel through your body from head to toe and set intention to come back to this new belief every day so that it can flourish.
Now bring your attention back to the image of you that you had in your mind's eye and to end you may imagine giving that image of you a hug and sending them on their way or maybe they just gently float away.
And start to bring your attention back to this present moment.
Feel the gentle rise and fall of your breath.
Maybe wiggle your fingers,
Your toes,
Bring a little smile to your lips.
Really open your eyes up to your space.
Thank you for spending this time with me today.
