Hello beautiful!
Welcome to this self love ritual.
We are going to do some mirror work and eye gazing.
For this practice you are going to need a mirror and a private comfortable space for yourself.
And I also recommend that you set up a little ritual space.
It doesn't have to be super fancy.
You can just light a candle,
Get a cup of tea,
Maybe light some incense,
Palo santo,
Or whatever makes you feel really comfortable and present.
And if you need to you can pause this audio now and do that.
Whenever you are ready,
Find a comfortable position in front of your mirror where you can see yourself clearly.
And before we begin,
Take a moment to honor yourself for being here,
For choosing this,
For taking this time for yourself,
And for saying yes to meeting yourself right here,
Right now.
And then let your shoulders drop.
Soften your jaw.
Close your eyes and take one deep breath in through your nose and sigh it out through your mouth.
And again,
Breathe in through the nose,
Sigh it out through the mouth.
And then place one hand over your heart and feel the warmth of your own touch.
Feel the steady rhythm of your heartbeat beneath your palm.
And place your other hand on your womb and feel your belly rising and falling with every inhale and exhale.
And become aware of your body in this moment.
And then we're going to set an intention.
In this practice,
We're going to move from performance to pleasure.
So many of us have learned to perform in the bedroom,
In relationships,
And even in front of the mirror.
We have learned to see ourselves through the eyes of others,
Wondering if we are enough,
If our bodies are right,
If we are doing this correctly.
And we've learned to fake pleasure rather than feel it,
To look a certain way rather than be a certain way.
But here's what I want you to know.
Your body was never meant to be a performance.
It was meant to be an experience,
An experience for yourself,
A home,
A temple.
And the doorway from performance to pleasure is acceptance.
Acceptance creates intimacy with yourself,
With your body,
With life.
And non-acceptance creates separateness.
It keeps us distant from our own aliveness.
So let's set this intention together,
Silently or aloud.
Say,
I release the need to perform.
I open to acceptance and I choose to love all of me.
And now gently open your eyes and bring your gaze to reflection.
Look into your own eyes,
Look at yourself,
And just notice how does that make you feel.
Notice how does your breath change.
Can you stay with your own gaze?
Does your inner critic start whispering?
And whatever arises,
Just let it be there.
Just let it be seen and witnessed.
You don't need to push anything away.
And let your gaze soften.
Let your eyes become gentle and imagine you are looking at someone you deeply love.
A child,
A beloved friend,
Someone you cherish.
And see if you can offer yourself that same quality of gaze.
And let your eyes rest on your own eyes in the mirror.
Not searching,
Not evaluating.
Just meeting yourself.
And breathe.
Just stay there.
Don't leave.
Now let's move a little bit deeper.
Keep your gaze soft,
Resting on your own eyes,
And begin to look past the surface,
Past the color of your eyes,
Past the shape of your face.
Look into the being behind those eyes.
There is a woman who has survived every hard day,
Who has loved,
Who has lost,
Who has hoped,
Who is giving so much of herself.
Can you see her?
And silently,
From your heart,
Say to her,
I see you.
I see you and I'm not leaving.
And whatever emotions arise right now,
Let them move.
You might feel tenderness.
Maybe a little bit of grief comes up.
Relief or love.
And know that everything is welcome here.
All of you is welcome here.
Keep breathing.
Keep your gaze soft and stay present.
Now slowly let your gaze move from your eyes to the rest of your reflection.
Take in more of yourself.
Notice where your attention goes.
Notice if there are any parts you want to skip over.
Parts you've judged,
Parts you've called ugly,
Or wrong,
Or too much,
Or not enough.
And then choose one part of your body that you've rejected.
Maybe your belly,
Your thighs,
Your breasts,
Your skin.
Wherever you feel cold.
And now I invite you to do something very powerful.
I'm going to invite you to feel both non-acceptance and acceptance.
And see if you can truly feel and experience the difference.
So let yourself truly feel the non-acceptance.
Let the thought be there.
I don't like this part of my body.
I find this ugly.
I wish it was different.
I wish I could change this.
And be with that feeling of not accepting it.
And then notice how that feels in your body.
Notice what happens to your breath.
And notice the distance it creates between you and yourself.
Non-acceptance is separateness.
It pushes life away.
And now take a deep breath and calm yourself down.
And consciously shift.
What if you could accept this part of your body?
Not because you have to like it.
Not because you have to prefer it.
But simply because it is.
It exists and is part of your aliveness.
And then place your hand on that part of your body now.
And see if you can tell it that you love it.
That you accept it.
That you're grateful.
Any of those things.
Maybe you can tell it it's welcome.
And then notice how that feels.
Notice the relationship that shifts between you and your body when you choose acceptance.
Acceptance is intimacy.
It draws you closer to your own life,
Your own pleasure,
Your own aliveness.
And breathe into the touch.
And let your body receive your own acceptance.
Your own love.
It is through the body that you reach the divine.
It is through accepting the body that you remember who you truly are.
And whatever you feel right now,
Just let it be there.
And then slowly bring your gaze back to your eyes one more time.
Feel the connection you've just created with yourself.
This is you.
Meeting yourself.
No performance,
No mask.
Just presence.
Just acceptance.
And then take one more deep breath in.
Gathering all the acceptance you've offered yourself.
And as you exhale,
Let it settle into every cell of your body.
And you can carry that with you into your day,
Your evening,
Any events you go to,
Into your life.
The knowing that you don't need to perform to be worthy of love.
That your pleasure matters and that your body is sacred exactly as it is.
And when you're ready,
Place both hands on your heart and feel your own presence,
Your own warmth.
And whisper to yourself out loud or silently I am enough.
I accept all of me.
I am worthy of pleasure.
Thank yourself for being here.
For being brave enough to truly see yourself.
To truly accept yourself.
