Thanksgiving Therapy | How Giving Thanks Heals

This month the SBLS Community has been coming together for 21 Days of Body Thanks!  We are all taking a moment each day to give thanks for one of our body parts, acknowledging why we love it and how it is meaningful to us.  My original goal for this community activity was to help us release complaints and remember to be thankful for our bodies.  However, as more people begin to post their photos and their statements of thanks, I am realizing that much more is taking place during these 21 Days.  Many of us are acknowledging that we used to take certain parts of us for granted, or even have negative thoughts, feelings, and energy around certain body parts.  As we give thanks, we are reverencing just how unique we are and how important our body parts are to us.  I personally have experienced healing in my relationship with my body.  There were parts of me that I was not as eager to photograph or share, but as I do so for this experience, I come to terms with just how much my body sustains me.  There are parts of me that I have been ashamed of or even neglectful of in the past,  and I am now challenged to make Peace with those parts of me and give thanks for the good that they bring into my life  like this photo of my biceps:

[blockQuote position=”center”]I am thankful for my biceps. I first have to apologize to them for all the times I was ashamed, and covered them because I felt that they were too jiggly, fat, and flabby. Now I am embracing them in love, not because they changed at all, but because they are a part of me. They enable me to lift, hug, hold, carry, push, pull, and more. Thank you for supporting me, even when I was ashamed of you![/blockQuote]

This experience has been AWESOME!  We are having more and more posts of people giving thanks and making Peace with their bodies.  Here are some of the other body thanks posts that have been shared:

• A person giving thanks for their “thick legs” that they used to think were too fat
• A person giving thanks for their nose that they were bullied about most of their life
• A person giving thanks for their hair that they thought was too “nappy” and not beautiful.
• A person giving thanks for the mole on their face that they have learned to see as unique

It is truly a healing moment when you can look at a body part that used to bring you shame and embarrassment and reverence it by giving thanks.  If you have not posted a #BodyThanks2013 photo it is NOT too late!!  You can jump in at any time by posting on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, or Tumblr.  Try it out and see how Thanksgiving Therapy can change your life too!