Somatic Gratitude

Do you feel uncomfortable living in your body?

Do you find yourself focusing on wanting to change parts of your physical self?

Do you avoid looking in the mirror, or on the flipside, obsessive gaze upon your reflection?

We enter the world, occupying a body, through no choice of our own. And yet, somehow, for many of us, we haven't quite accepted this fleshy thing we live in and the way we feel towards it. While feelings and attitudes towards our bodies may be ever-changing, it's easy to gravitate towards the negative spectrum of emotions. We may despair at the appearance of fine lines. We may feel hopeless as the number on the scale never seems to decrease. We may feel betrayed when our face flushes upon looking at our crush. We may even feel damaged beyond repair upon receiving a chronic illness diagnosis.

While it's important to feel a full spectrum of emotions and avoid suppressing our authentic feelings, it's equally important to "unstuck" ourselves. That is, we can step out of the negative self-images we've created and choose to erase our attachment to these (often false and distorted) images. We can change our thoughts and attitudes towards the parts of ourselves that are seemingly unlovable, and we can change our behavior, too. The goal of this guide is to empower you (there's so much within your control!) and help you radiate with love towards yourself (and, consequently, others).

How do we erase false images of ourselves? For example, you may feel despair initially when seeing crow's feet form at the corner of your eyes. But guess what? Getting older is a privilege! So many of us die before they even have an opportunity to form. Not only, crow's feet are the result of smiling and laughter-a few lines at the corner of the eyes are a small price to pay for laughter and smiles. These reframings, borrowed from Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) are sprinkled throughout this guide and can help you find a new appreciation for the body you live in.

Beyond just changing our thoughts, I also wanted to emphasize the power of changing our behavior. If there's something about ourselves that's impacting our self-esteem, or is leading to the degradation of our health, then it's important to not only reframe thoughts, but to take action. Continuing with the crow's feet example, you may decide that you'd like to prevent, and possibly reverse, them from becoming deeper by means of retinol, mineral-based SPF and a good moisturizer. You may even cut the sugar and processed seed oils- two ingredients known to expedite the breakdown in collagen. You'll notice a common theme throughout this guide is the striving for equilibrium between accepting and loving the parts of ourselves we can't change (via reframing) and taking action on the parts of ourselves we can change (via behavioral changes).

Ultimately, the power lies in your hands. These mantras will help you to feel love, gratitude, and even awe towards the unchangeable parts of your physical self, and determined, empowered, and focused on taking the necessary actions to evoke positive change. While reflecting on these mantras, and doing the mindfulness-inspired activities, it should become easier for you to decide what's unchangeable and what you have the power to change.

Learn to Love Yourself and Your Body

To reiterate, this mantra-centered guide is an opportunity for you to reframe your perception of your body. Rather than engaging with inflammatory emotions directed at yourself, these mantras invite you to pivot. Now, you can turn away from resentment, and focus on gratitude. You can banish apathy, and cultivate self-compassion. You can reject self-destruction, and instead surrender yourself to the best version of yourself.

It's time to experience somatic gratitude. Settle into a quiet, comfortable setting to explore yourself and shift your emotional state through these mantras.