Did you enjoy your favorite dishes over the holidays? Potatoes? Turkey? Mac & Cheese? Or your favorite desserts? Delicious cheesecake? Cookies? Warm blueberry pie?
Is your mouth watering right now or are you instead saying, “ugh, I’m so fat!” to yourself?
The post-holiday blues about weight gain can often cause us to feel regret about what we ate and as we look in the mirror, many of us do not like what’s staring back at us. We beat ourselves up, think dreadful thoughts about our bodies, and feel disdain for our behavior.
None of those self-defeating strategies ever work, do they?
The better place to start is to love your body—just as it is. Starting from a place of love and acceptance (not resignation—that’s different), we tend to feel more positive, and hopefully, more motivated to treat our bodies with the respect and kindness they so deserve.
How about this year you start with a practice of body appreciation? Rather than solely focusing on your appearance and how the outside world sees your body, let’s explore the wholeness of your body, including all the beautiful things that are happening inside you that we often take for granted, overlook, or simply are unaware of how much the body giving us what we need to thrive in the world.
I’ve created a post-holiday, guided meditations called “Body Appreciation” and “Loving All of You” that you can listen to on Insight Timer or Spotify. I hope you enjoy these recordings and while you’re there, you may find other meditation tracks from me that are equally helpful in other ways.
Stay true to you,
Rebecca A. Ward, LMFT, SEP, PCC