As the year winds down to almost nothing, let’s take a pause together to acknowledge the one thing that is truly ours — our bodies. My own body doesn’t look anything like it did 10 or 20 years ago, but each scar and mark is part of my story, for which I am infinitely grateful.
The new year has always felt like a time for reflection on the year past, and also an opportunity to put forth a vision for what I want to manifest in the future. In order to get to that grand vision, however, I have found it helpful to start from where I am in the moment. For me, the most direct way to calm and ground my spinning mind is through the body.
Here is a centering exercise intended to elicit acceptance of whatever is happening in your body at the moment, and gratitude for all it has done for you over the past year and perhaps your lifetime.
Focus attention on each area of the body as you go, and thank each for what they do/have done.
If acceptance of any of these areas is difficult for you, think of it as a house guest that doesn't have the best manners, and send it as much compassion (or at least patience!) as you can muster.
Make your gratitude visible and visual by downloading the
attached template. Fill in your thanks in the corresponding areas of the body map. Make it fun, make it colorful, add some pizazz! Hang it up somewhere where you’ll bump into it periodically. When you do, take a moment to appreciate everything your body does for you.