Greetings fellow spirits in physical form!

Almost every person that I am working with right now is focusing on body issues.  Is it because spring is in the air?  Is it because summer looms around the corner with bathing suit adds threatening us in every magazine?  Is it because clothes become lighter and more form fitting in the warmer months? 

Maybe all of those are possibilities and maybe folks are just ready to feel good in their skins.  Are you tired of constantly thinking about food and if you have exercised enough?  Are you tired of worrying about how many cookies you ate or if you had enough salad this week?  Are you tired of looking at your body and wondering how the hell your fanny has been so effected by gravity? 

I was recently reading a study focusing on women and the relationship they have to their bodies.  I wish I could remember who did this study…but, along with my fanny heading south…my brain has decided to follow!  Anyway, this study worked with a large group of women (it was around 3000) and they found that 80% of the women did not feel good about their bodies.  What was interesting about this research is that the women were are all shapes and sizes…fit, thin, not fit, not thin and some where in the middle!

This is a staggering amount of women! 

So, how do you feel in your body? How about the folks you hang out with…how do they feel in their bodies?  Is anybody out there comfy in their skins?

I appreciate that this issue is being addressed in various ways by the media.  I LOVE what dove has done with their marketing.  The adds are brilliant, beautiful and fabulous! I hope other companies adopt this concept of using a variety of body types to sell products.  I also appreciate how the show "What Not To Wear" talks about dressing your body type and feeling good exactly the size that you are.  Love it…Love it…Love it!!!! 

As humans, our diversity is what makes us interesting and beautiful.  People strive to be different and unique.  But, something happens to this desire when we begin to have a conversation about our bodies.  All of a sudden everyone wants to be a size 2, with big boobs (If you are a babe that is!).

I am not saying that it isn’t fabulous to feel fit and trim and healthy…it is!  But, to get there…you have to find some peace and comfort in the skin that are in RIGHT NOW!  It is all about unconditional love of the Self.  Loving yourself even when you are heavier then you want to be…or loving yourself even when you are flabbier than you want to be…or loving yourself even when you eat cookies for breakfast!  Unconditional love is the ticket to freedom. 

The interesting thing about this is that when you begin to feel good about yourself…no matter your size, you begin to make choices that feel good to your body.  When you feel good about yourself, all of a sudden you feel like walking outside on a beautiful day, or doing a little jig in your kitchen…or you feel like eating something nutritious because it supports how good you feel! 

So, to expand these spring time stirrings…go from the inside out.  There are lots of ways to tune into unconditional self love.  I am not saying that this is easy Parcheesi!  This takes some focused intention, some re-patterning of your thoughts, and some good ol’ energy clearing.  Remember that you were born loving yourself…it’s in there somewhere!

Here is a list of some tools to try out.  Remember that we are all individual, unique beings…so, not everything on this list will resonate with you and you may have other things that work instead!

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE EXTRAVAGANZA

• start a "positive aspects" or a gratitude journal: write 7-10 things down, everyday that you are grateful for or that were positive.  This is a fantastic way to shift your thoughts and therefore your life!
• Meditate:  this can be done in a variety of ways…a long walk alone in a beautiful place, sitting quietly for a bit and tuning into your breathing, arranging flowers, gardening…whatever floats your unique fabulous boat!
• Visualization:  I love visualization…it allows us to imagine whatever we want and for that moment…it’s true!  You can visualize unconditional love pulsing through your body….you can visualize color that is soft and soothing pulsing through your body…use your imagination and have fun with this.  I have some short color alignment meditations on my site that are nice to play with.
• EFT: I love this modality.  Whenever I tap with myself and other folks the statements end with "I love and accept myself anyway!"  Love it!
• Message Therapy, Reiki, Healing Touch: These modalities are fantastic for moving stuck energy out of the body.  They also help some folks to become present and to connect more fully with their bodies. 

There are so many fabulous techniques and tools out there that can assist you in reconnecting with that inner place of unconditional love.  Even spending a handful minutes visiting this internal place every day is going to help.

So, your homework for the week….for your lifetime (If you choose to take this mission), is to tune in to self love…every day…all day if you can…life just can’t help but feel better and better when there is some love.

XXXOOOO  Love ya!