A Beautiful Meditation for Body Image Healing
As a teenager, I hated my curly hair. I prayed for hair I could run a brush through without my eyes watering.
My friends Andrea and Karen had beautiful long, straight hair. It was silky and smooth. They easily pulled it into a pony before basketball practices. They wore pretty red and white ribbons in their hair on game day.
The more I wished, the more my hormones made my hair even curlier.
There is a good chance you’ve also wished for your body to be different. It may not be your hair.
When comparing our body to the “thin body ideal”, the different ways to criticize and judge our bodies are sadly endless.
Size, shape, color, and texture are all of the ways our bodies are unique. Yet, if they don’t match that ONE standard, we’ve been conditioned to dislike what we see.
Because of this, you’ve told your body it’s disgusting. It’s too much. And not enough, at the same time.
You’ve hidden your body, hoping that if you cover it up, stay quiet or stay in the outer edges of a room, right near the exit door where you can make a quick escape, you’ll avoid the pain that comes when others see you.
When it comes to your body, you need protection. Your body isn’t safe to be seen as it is.
This was me when I was at war with my body. If this you, then you know what it’s like to live in something that you just want to run away from. You’d rather be disconnected from it than have to accept it.
Which is why I want to share this meditation with you. It can soften the edges of this painful relationship and invite healing.
My friend and fellow Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Elizabeth Hall, shared with me her modification of the ho’oponopono meditation by adding “body” after each statement.
As you say each statement to yourself, let the words sink in. Notice how your body reacts to each of the words. You may weep. You may feel relief. Your body may tense in resistance and disbelief.
That’s okay. Allow this prayer to continue to wash over you and let it work its magic. You’re not forcing anything on your body. Consider it a gentle invitation, something that allows you to start to unwind some of the messiness and get to the simplicity of what your body really is. A brilliant gift.
In a world that tells you your body needs to be different, you can heal and accept the body you’ve been gifted.
Here is the prayer:
I love you, body.
I’m sorry, body.
Please forgive me, body.
Thank you, body.
Listen to my conversation with Elizabeth Hall on the Hungry: Trust Your Body. Free Your Mind. podcast here.
