Hello Summer. Memorial Day kicks off the official start to summer here in the midwest, and almost on cue, the weather picks up and gets warm just for that weekend. I found myself in Florida for the weekend, but the challenge remained the same – reemerge after months of hiding in sweatshirts, leggings, and layers from winter.
Was I ready? Could I shift from hiding to being seen? Does anyone else have any hesitations as you picked out summer clothes? Perhaps you took a bit longer to figure out what to wear? Or did you find yourself trying on outfit after outfit in search of something that looked and felt good?
Don’t worry. You are not alone. We all feel the pressure to be beach-ready when summer starts, and there are two ways to handle it: “I love me as I am right now” or “I wish I was…”
This month’s practice comes from my newest program, Love Your Body, Love Your Self. This 30-day mental detox takes you through the process of rewiring limiting and negative beliefs you hold about your body. If you say things like “I wish I looked like her” or “I could never wear that,” this program was written for you. Start with today’s practice, and look for more info on Love Your Body coming later this month.
Self-Love Celebration Practice
It can be hard to celebrate what you have if you constantly compare it to something else. Today’s exercise focuses on celebrating what you have and love about your physical self.
1) Start by thinking over what you love about your body. Do you love your eyes? Or perhaps your hair? Maybe you like how tall or short you are. Select a feature that you like about yourself.
2) Reflect on that feature. Why do you like it? How does it make you feel? Do others compliment you on that feature? Do you enhance that feature with clothing, makeup, or fitness?
3) After tapping into your favorite feature, I want you to start to look over the rest of your body. What do you see? Are there other traits that make you uniquely you? What other piece do you find endearing or cute?
For example, I used to judge what my hands looked like until I noticed that they were my grandma’s hands. I loved my grandma’s hands because they carried love and apple pie. I never judged those hands. I realized that I was judging a part of me that I could not control nor change and embraced them for what they are. And to my surprise, they look different to me now.
4) Continue to reflect on your body and celebrate it for being exactly the way it is. Over the next few days, return to this practice and focus on the pieces you love about your body.
We all have times when we struggle with what we look or feel like. Even the people we think are most beautiful can have times when they don’t like how they look. Loving yourself is not reliant on your physical shape. You can choose to love it exactly as it is, and the cool part is that when you choose to love and accept it as it is, it starts to change.
Xoxo,
erica