As the trauma-informed boudoir and empowerment photographer for Show Your Spark, I have the privilege of hearing the deeply personal stories of the women who come into our studio. Narratives of overcoming and becoming reveal past pain, insecurities, and the desire to transform.
Women also share with me their complicated relationship with their bodies. In their stories, shame and sorrow occupy the space I believe should be joy, acceptance, and celebration. Show Your Spark’s mission is to help women feel confident in their current bodies as we collectively release societal beauty standards. I created the transformative and empowering Spark Experience on the belief that ALL women deserve to feel beautiful and confident in their skin, no exceptions – now!
Today’s post is about learning to accept your body now. In my own experience, when I choose to embrace what is now, I find true comfort, peace, and joy in all areas of my life.
Remember: Life Reflects Nature
We are in a natural season of transition- transitioning from Summer into new routines of Fall and eventually into Winter. During those times, we can feel a duality of emotions that prevent us from living in the present moment.
Not wanting to miss a moment of this change, I intentionally ground myself in the present with a deep, delicious breath to soak it all up. Using my senses to take in my surroundings, I can smell the pungent grass and see the leaves changing and beginning to fall.
Practicing awareness allows me to tune in – drop in – and open myself up to fully experience the here and now.
Our lives reflect nature’s rhythms and cycles. We are ever-changing beings. Never the same one minute to the next, our bodies and spirits constantly transform without judgment. Our bodies are powerful, intricate, beautiful machines that bear witness to our lives, carry the emotions of our experiences, and allow us to experience the world. When you think about it, our bodies hold no emotion about their appearance. They just are. Our thoughts about our bodies create the emotion we feel when we view ourselves. That experienced emotion then resides in our bodies, for better or worse.
To accept your body now, choose to view it the same way we reflect on nature, without judgment and in awe of its ever-changing beauty. Doing so will free you to accept what IS without looking to the past or the future in shame or despair.
Practice Gratitude
Gratitude practices are foundational to living in the present moment. Lack of gratitude roots us in despair, comparison, past memories, and future fears. When we experience gratitude, we can receive the love and good currently present in our lives.
When we deny ourselves the present moment by wishing for what was or comparing the present moment to what could be, we miss the opportunity to fully experience our lives.
Practicing gratitude, especially about your physical body, can at first feel foreign.
Try This: Body Acceptance Exercise
- Pause for a moment. Look at yourself in a mirror.
- See what is without judgment.
- Embrace the moment.
- Pause and tell yourself, “I am here.”
- Sit with that feeling. Observe the sensation and emotion.
- Continue to cultivate that sense of gratitude throughout your day.
Cultivating an attitude of gratitude takes practice and requires a disciplined mind.
Prioritizing thankfulness throughout the day can move us into a place of joy, peace, and presence.
Release the Past and the Future
I think many people, myself included, desire to get back there – that place of where we were or who we were before a particular set of experiences brought us where we are today. Others want to rush forward into the future of what could be.
The reality is that life happens now. True peace, freedom, and happiness reside in the present moment.
Now is the timeline in which we most fully live. We live in our bodies now, with the ability to gather information about the world around us. Our bodies are ever-changing, marked, and forever changed by our experiences. We can not expect our current body to look or feel like it once did before these experiences. On the other hand, we must not delay our joy for that moment when we reach a specific goal surrounding our bodies.
As we learn to be present in the current moment through our senses, we can become aware of the sights, sounds, and feelings surrounding us. In doing so, we can live more fully, allowing our souls to come alive.
Accept Your Body Now
Wherever you are in life right now, amid challenges or on the other side, take a moment to reflect on how your life mirrors nature’s seasons, practice gratitude, and release both the past and the present. In doing so, I think you might find joy sneaking up on you!
Remember, you are powerful, courageous, and one of a kind. If you are ready to Show Your Spark, contact us today to learn more about our personalized empowering photography experiences, aka Spark Sessions!
XO,
Lindsay
