Over years of professional practice and in my own recovery I’ve found mindfulness of emotions to be key in the healing process. Unfortunately few of us learned how to do this as our culture tends to dismiss, distract from, judge or contain emotions. Our bodies need help managing emotions as much as our minds and this often manifests itself in our body image and eating patterns.

Anytime you are struggling to feel at peace in your body or to nourish yourself in a balanced way try this technique. I would love to hear what you think - or better yet, what you feel about it! 

Practice Physical Presence

Bring all of your awareness to this very moment. Drop all attempts to rationalize with your mind, and come into your body through your breath and the senses. While standing or sitting still take at least 8 conscious breaths: in through the nose then out through the mouth. Relax any obvious tension in your body starting in your toes and moving up. After grounding through breath notice where you are and what you are doing. Feel your current experience in your body. Notice smells, temperature, and touch in full detail. Now affirm verbally or in your mind just what’s true about this moment including that you are completely safe. For example, “I am at work, checking e-mail, and I am safe.”

Hear your Heart

Next, bring your awareness to your heart center in your chest. Place your non-dominate hand on your heart center. Say “I feel” out loud or in your mind and finish that statement with the first word that arises. Sit with that word for a breath then repeat “I feel” and complete it again. Repeat this until it seems you have named all emotions that are present the best you can in this moment. Let go of thinking about the feelings or what will happen if you give them space; simply acknowledge this part of your experience right now.

Accept & Allow through Ahimsa

Repeat, “I accept myself and my experience with compassion.” Ahimsa means non-violence and also compassionate awareness. Continue breathing fully using breath to stay connected to this moment and all you feel. Continue dropping physical tension, letting breath move into every muscle, bone and cell of your body. Relax your entire body around what you feel. Affirm your experience by any peaceful means possible: write, draw, paint, talk to someone, talk to yourself, express the emotion through movement, etc. Whenever the mind interrupts, simply say, “breath,” and focus back on that sensation. If time and environment allow, stay with “A” for a bit and give yourself the attention you deserve.

Transform Your Experience

This 4-part practice is really just 3 steps! Staying with “A” through completion usually results in a shift of experience in body image and urges to restrict or binge. Remember, yoga is a practice, as is life. Healing work is a process.

There is no auto-pilot to peace or health, no destination. Rather it is a journey, a way of being in the world. When feeling at odds or unsettled with yourself in any way come back to this centering practice as your foundation. It will help you come to the best possible place from which to act (or not act) in your own best interest.

Julie Norman, nicknamed "The Body Image Guru" by clients, guides women to live authentically healthy lives through peaceful body image, intuitive eating and mindful movement. She blends professional nutrition guidance with the wisdom of yoga to help women transform the ways in which they care for and experience their bodies. She maintains a private practice, REAL Nutrition, LLC, and is the creator of Body Karma Healing, a yoga-based program intended to help women transform body image from painful to peaceful. Julie believes healing individual body image pain helps us heal the world! Get started with her guiding DVD.