Did you know I used to hate my body?
Like really hate my body. I was sure there was something wrong with me. I overlooked all the ways it was healthy and happy and thriving. Instead, I assumed every extra ounce or scar or stretch mark was proof of my inescapable flaws.
I struggled with eating disorders and bullying thoughts. It was like a war zone inside of my mind.
The constant battle of how I thought things “should” be versus how they actually are.
I was so full of criticism and judgment for myself that I couldn’t ever actually see what was good about my body.
I may not have a ton of clutter in my home, but I sure had a lot of clutter in my mind. The things I used to say to myself would make a sailor blush.
Look, if my boyfriend said that he would only love me if I weighed 110 lbs. or had a flat stomach or a bigger booty—I would kick him to the curb faster than you can say “Bye, bye!”
So why do I accept that from my own mind?
For the last few years, I’ve been on a healing path. I’m learning to fall in love with my body. I’m finding ways to soften the voices in my head and shift them to a more loving tone.
Instead of obsessing about how I can control my body to look the way I think it should look, I’m using that energy to find ways to love myself…exactly as I am.
One of the best practices I did for this was mirror work. All you need is a mirror and a dry erase marker. Each day I would stand in front of the mirror naked (yep, naked) and look at my body. Really look at it. And then I would write one thing I love about my body on the mirror.
At first, I picked “easy targets.” I like my eyes…the color of my hair. I like that I have skin. Some days it was all I could do to find even one thing to appreciate.
The first few days were rough. But on the third day, something magical started to happen. I was washing my hands when I noticed the curve of my thumb. My brain jumped to attention and said, “I love the curve of my thumb.”
From that moment, my brain went from being an enemy, always looking for proof that there was something wrong with me, to my cheerleader, looking for all the things that were right.
I knew I was in the middle of a breakthrough when I looked at my stomach (the part of my body I was the most insecure about) and thought to myself, “I like the feminine curve of my belly.”
Wow!!! Mind blown.
After months of doing this practice every day, the mirror was so full I could barely see my own reflection. It was a practice of self-love and a reminder that we can change how we think.
Your brain is a computer. There are always things we can do to shift the program.
When I moved out of my house last year, I gave the mirror to my newly single friend.
She has been using it for her own mirror practice. She called me the other day to say how helpful it has been to her. The love that I infused in that mirror is now overflowing into her life and home.
Who says stuff doesn’t have energy?
If self-love is on your list of goals right now, try the magic mirror practice. It’s time to welcome love into your life in every possible way.
