Body Positivity for the Beginner
Something all health care providers have noticed over the past few years is that our patient's body image has taken a collective turn for the worse. During the pandemic, many of you have found that your bodies are changing in various ways. Maybe you are coping utilizing comfort foods, you are less active as it doesn’t feel safe to go to the gym, or you are drinking more alcohol to get to sleep. Bodies are living, breathing entities that shift and change throughout our lives. Change can feel frightening and uncomfortable AND it is a huge part of existing as human beings.
I would like to assert that your body deserves and needs your love and respect more so now than ever before. The uncertainty and stress of living during a global pandemic taxes the body in ways we are only beginning to understand. Speaking harshly to your body now will only further your discomfort. Your body is listening and reacts to the self talk you feed it. We need to learn to be kind and reverent towards our bodies. Below, I have created a body acceptance meditation for you and there is also a video for you to utilize on our Willow + Elm Wellness instagram page.
Step 1: Find a comfortable place to meditate for several minutes. This can be in a traditional cross legged seated position, supine (laying flat), or any other body posture that allows you the ability to relax your muscles and mind. If you live in a body with chronic pain, I encourage you to bolster your joint spaces with pillows and blankets to achieve maximum comfort during your mindfulness meditation.
Step 2: Once you are settled and feeling comfortable in a body position that is sustainable for at least ten minutes, begin to notice your breath. Feel it fill your lungs, expand your diaphragm, and reach into the lower corners of your abdomen. Imagine it moving and expanding all the way from the tips of your toes to the edges of your collarbones. Feel free to pair that sensation with some imagery. Imagine the inhale being a calming color, spreading over and inside of your body.
Step 3: With the inhale, examine your body. Where do you feel negative emotions gathering? Do you notice your belly receiving a lot of your negative self talk? Does it feel painful, bloated, uncomfortable in your clothing, or do you place judgment on how it looks externally? Do you feel your frustration with your body in your chest or back? What area of your body do you view in a negative light or compare to other people around you? Focus on that body area and feel the emotions that dwell there.
Step 4: Name those emotions or sensations, aloud or in your head. Do you feel angry, self conscious, frustrated, sad, or judgmental? Label the feelings as they arise.
Step 5: Imagine those feelings have colors as well. Frustration can be bright red, or dark purple, or whatever color resonates with you. Breathe in your calming and positive inhale and direct it especially into your focus area. Exhale and pull out all the feelings of a different color. Allow the calming color to take up more and more space in your body and exhale out the negativity, pain, and discomfort.
Step 6: Take a moment once you feel all of your differently colored energies are expelled from your body in cleansing exhales. What does your body need to hear? What energies would you like to carry in this space more permanently? Does your body need soothing, nurturing, healing, acceptance? Choose a word or two and meditate on sending acceptance, soothing, nurturing, or healing into all corners of your body. Let it wash over you like waves, splashing and spreading into every corner and crevice of your amazing and resilient body.
Practice daily and see how your thoughts and body sensations shift. You may be surprised at how profoundly thoughts impact the body and healing process.
You are surviving and thriving in a tumultuous time. You are loved. The fact that you exist makes someone, somewhere feel better. You have the ability to hold and heal your body. You are beautiful and whole just as you are.