{"id":3943,"date":"2013-02-04T12:01:28","date_gmt":"2013-02-04T17:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/?p=3943"},"modified":"2013-01-16T15:30:17","modified_gmt":"2013-01-16T20:30:17","slug":"can-you-forgive-your-body-for-being-imperfect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2013\/02\/can-you-forgive-your-body-for-being-imperfect.html","title":{"rendered":"Can You Forgive Your Body for Being Imperfect?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A big block to building self-love is being unhappy with your body. Too many people tell me they\u2019ll work on self-love when they lose weight, buff up more, etc. But self-love includes loving your body exactly as it is. That doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t prefer to lose weight, build muscle or firm up.\u00a0 But until you make peace with your body, you\u2019ll have a harder time loving yourself. That\u2019s why I\u2019m happy to have Michelle Minero<\/strong><\/a> as my guest today. She\u2019s a\u00a0licensed marriage family therapist (MFT),\u00a0founder of Eating Disorder Recovery Support (EDRS) , a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness about eating disorders and author of \u00a0Self-Love: The Only Diet That Works<\/a>. Here\u2019s what she has to say:<\/p>\n

Body Forgiveness Letters<\/strong>
\nExcerpted with permission from Self-Love: The Only Diet That Works<\/em>
\nBy Michelle Minero<\/strong><\/a>, MFT<\/p>\n

Body forgiveness is important in the Self-Love Diet practice. Writing a body forgiveness letter is a powerful process because you\u2019re acknowledging the hurt you have caused your body and are asking for your body\u2019s forgiveness. By writing a body forgiveness letter, you\u2019re making peace with your body, admitting your self-criticisms and unhealthy care and are committing to actively treat your body, and yourself, healthier and with love. Here is an example of a body forgiveness letter that was submitted to the Love Warrior Community<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Dear body,<\/em>
\nThere\u2019s not really a good place to begin to apologize for all the x#^%# that I put you (me) through. I\u2019m sorry for many, many things, indulging in snacks a bit too much, the constant pushing you to keep going (even when you\u2019re exhausted), and my own mentality as well. I need to take responsibility for all of these things, and realize that you are not just a shell in which I live, but you are wholly a part of my psychological being as well. I commit to take time to stop and consider YOU for a few minutes every day. I trust that will be good for both of us. You are AWESOME and amazing; I know that you have been able to perform some amazing feats in the past, and you won\u2019t let me down in the future. In return, I will take better care of you!<\/em>
\nMeghan<\/em><\/p>\n

What do you want to ask your body forgiveness for? Write it down. __________________ ________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Body Forgiveness Template<\/strong>\"\"<\/a>
\nWhen you ask your body for forgiveness, it’s not enough to say, “I’m sorry.”
\nHere are the components to a satisfying apology:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Take responsibility for your actions.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Acknowledge how your actions affected your body.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Try to understand how your body “felt.”
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Make amends. Have a plan so you will not hurt your body again.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Say you’re sorry.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Ask for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

In the body forgiveness template, I’ve added a section for a witness. By having a supportive witness that you trust, you get the advantage of accountability and the experience of sharing your intentions with a caring person. Building a community of body love supporters is paramount to your recovery. I encourage you to write an apology letter to your body. If you are sincere, I am confident that your body will forgive you.
\nHere is an example to get you started:<\/p>\n

Body Forgiveness Letter Template
\nDear Body,
\nI am writing to acknowledge and take responsibility for all the times I _____________________<\/p>\n

I know this affected you by __________________________________________________<\/p>\n

You must have felt________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

I commit to love and honor you by (Amends)_____________________________________<\/p>\n

I am sorry, (Ask for forgiveness)______________________________________________<\/p>\n

Signed: ______________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Date:________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Witnessed by:__________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Date:________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

If you do not think you have support from the people in your life, keep the witness section blank until you find that person who supports you in your recovery. Body forgiveness letters are one tool that you can use from the Love Warrior Community to add to your Self-Love Diet. To read more body forgiveness letters on the Love Warrior Community website, to submit your own body forgiveness letter or to download the body forgiveness letter template, go to\u00a0the Love Warrior Community<\/a>, hover over Create\/Explore on the LWC menu, then hover over Writing and click on Body Forgiveness Letters. <\/a>
\n***************<\/p>\n

Join the Self-Love Movement<\/strong><\/a>! Take the 31 Days of Self-Love Commitment<\/strong><\/a> and get my book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways<\/a><\/strong> for free at http:\/\/howdoiloveme.com<\/a><\/strong>. Read my 2013 31 Days of Self-Love Posts HERE<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please leave comments under my posts so we can stay connected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A big block to building self-love is being unhappy with your body. Too many people tell me they\u2019ll work on self-love when they lose weight, buff up more, etc. But self-love includes loving your body exactly as it is. That doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t prefer to lose weight, build muscle or firm up.\u00a0 But until…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,15],"tags":[596,595,594,27],"class_list":["post-3943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nice-people-can-finish-first","category-self-empowerment-confidence","category-self-love-acceptance","tag-diets","tag-love-warrior-community","tag-michelle-minero","tag-self-love"],"yoast_head":"\nCan You Forgive Your Body for Being Imperfect? - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lessonsfromarecoveringdoormat\/2013\/02\/can-you-forgive-your-body-for-being-imperfect.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can You Forgive Your Body for Being Imperfect? - Lessons from a Recovering Doormat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A big block to building self-love is being unhappy with your body. Too many people tell me they\u2019ll work on self-love when they lose weight, buff up more, etc. But self-love includes loving your body exactly as it is. 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Let Me Count the Ways, a She's appeared on hundreds of TV and radio shows, including Oprah, Howard Stern, and Good Morning America and has been quoted in dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Marie Claire, and Men\u00b9s Health. After being a consummate People Pleaser who felt unworthy of getting her own needs met for many years, Daylle found a path of self-love that enabled her to build her self-esteem and reinvent herself into a dual career. She learned to get taken seriously without being overtly assertive when she became one of the first women to start an independent record label (on a dare!) and learned to play ball nicely and successfully in an industry dominated by men. To help independent musicians empower themselves, Daylle writes music business books for Billboard\/Random House, including the very popular Start & Run Your Own Record Labe and I Don't Need a Record Deal! Daylle's books have been translated into over 10 languages and are popular around the world. She speaks for colleges, organizations and corporations. Through her company, Project Self-Empowerment, Daylle creates programs and materials to help people empower themselves. One goal is to raise the money to self-publish her book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways and give it away for free in colleges and through organizations, to give thanks for all her blessings. 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