Self-love is an embodied practise, and one that requires time to nurture.
In eating disorder recovery, we commit to finding the time reconnect to our needs, responding to them without judgement. Instead of judgement, we learn to embody a tenderness that appreciates how all emotions – even the really tense and challenging ones – give texture and colour to life.
You’re invited to acknowledge that you are on a journey. You are always learning about yourself, and that includes learning new ways to be kind to yourself. This can feel hard though, as it may have been a long time since you last showed yourself some self-love or kindness.
Pippa, Orri’s Head of Creative and Somatic Therapy, provides 5 simple steps to help you to reconnect with yourself again.
Step 1
Find yourself a calming and quiet space. This could be a shady cove in your garden or in the comfort of your bed.
Step 2
Give yourself a moment to quietly settle into this space. Notice your surroundings – what can you hear? What is around you? How does it feel, right now?
Step 3
Take a moment to check in with your heart now. It may help to rest the palm of your hand on your chest, and feel the rise and fall of your chest as you breathe. Really connect with your breath until you find a gentle rhythm with your body.
Step 4
This is the fun part. Gently wiggle your body – shimmy the shoulders, wiggle those toes. This can help awaken those body parts that may not have much of your attention recently. If it doesn’t feel too much, why not try and smile whilst moving your body?
Step 5
Now, wrap your hands around your body and give yourself a big hug. Squeeze hard, or simply enjoy the embrace. This position actually helps slow down the nervous system.
Eating disorder recovery is more than just an absence of symptoms – it’s a ‘becoming’, an evolution, a growth, from a place that we trust no longer serves us.
Self-love is gradual process that won’t happen on any particular day but will deepen and strengthen with time. You deserve this time and you owe it to yourself. You are waiting to be loved by you… take a chance.
