Take a deep breath in and a long breath out.
The self-talk you engage in can often be unkind.
You hold yourself to unrealistic standards and focus on your flaws rather than your strengths.
With mindfulness practice,
You can learn to listen to this voice and acknowledge these thoughts without allowing them to take power.
You can also learn to tune into the things you like and admire about yourself.
Even if those parts of you are not always in your awareness,
They are always there,
Just as the sun is always present,
Even when you can't see it.
In this exercise,
You will bring awareness to these aspects of yourself in order to build a complete picture of who you are.
I invite you to close your eyes and elongate the spine,
Reaching the crown of the head up toward the skies and grounding the pelvis down toward the earth.
Take a deep breath in and a long breath out.
Begin to recognize the sensation of the body breathing.
Allow the mind to settle by returning your attention back to the breath as often as needed.
I invite you to bring something to mind that you appreciate about your body.
Ask yourself,
What is it that I like and appreciate about my body?
It may be a physical feature like hair or skin,
Or it might be an ability such as flexibility or the sense of smell.
Allow yourself to breathe naturally as you extend gratitude for this part of your body.
I invite you to take a deep breath in and a long breath out.
Bring something to mind that you appreciate about your mind.
Notice the qualities of your mind and its emotional experience.
Ask yourself,
What is it that I like about my brain,
My insight,
Or my personality?
It may be a quality such as creativity or curiosity,
Or it might be your desire for adventure or for quiet.
Allow yourself to breathe naturally as you extend gratitude for this part of your personality.
Take a deep breath in and a long breath out.
Bring some movement to the fingers and to the toes,
Not to the shoulders and to the neck.
Breathing in love and gratitude for the self and breathing out negativity and expectation.
Take a deep breath in and a long breath out.
Breathing in love and expectation.
And a long breath out.
