Dear Body...

One of the most powerful exercises we invite participants to do on our workshops and e-course is called ‘Letter to your Body’. We ask them to write a letter to their body and then let their body reply using their non dominant hand (i.e. if they are right handed they write the reply holding the pen in their left hand and vice-versa). It’s a wonderful way of connecting with your body and it is one of the exercises that many Beyond Chocolaters come back to over and over again. There is always something to learn...

I haven’t done this exercise for a long time and having celebrated my 40th birthday last week I decided to revisit this Beyond Chocolate classic.

Why not have a go yourself. Whether it’s the first or hundredth time you do this exercise, it’s always interesting to see what comes up...let us know how it went!

Dear Body,

Well, what a journey...forty years! It strikes me that congratulations are in order. I’m surprised because, as I sit here writing this, what first comes to mind when I think of you is a sense of pride. I’m just so proud of you. Let’s be honest, I haven’t exactly treated you brilliantly over these last 4 decades and yet you are still here, still going strong...and looking pretty fabulous - even if I say so myself. It’s funny because when I look at you I feel  confident and sexy and beautiful and I can’t for the life of me remember why I spent so many years trying to change you and hating you so much. I feel so sad that it’s taken us so long to get to know each other and be friends. I know I’ve said this before but, really, I’ll never apologise enough for the what I put you through all those years ago with the diets, the pills, the deprivation and the bingeing. I just didn’t know any better. I hope the last 10 years have made up for it a little. I know, I know...there’s still a lot more I could be doing for you. I can see you are getting tired more quickly and I promise to get you to bed earlier when I can. And I know it probably doesn’t seem like it but I HAVE been listening to you and I can hear that you’d like to be stretched and strengthened more. I hear you and I have a surprise for you - we’re going back to pilates next week - yay! I’ve booked us in for next Monday and am so looking forward to it.

Much love,
Audrey

Dear Audrey,

Thanks for taking the time to write this letter. It feels lovely to be acknowledged and appreciated like this. I am super excited about the pilates class next week. I’ve missed having some one on one time with you, lately - what a treat! I also want to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed the last few years. It’s been a good decade all in all and I do feel the changes you've made. You are right, I am a bit more fragile nowadays so thanks for being aware of that and slowing things down - I know how challenging you find that. Just one thing, please could you pamper me a bit more? I know you don’t have a lot of time for stuff like that but all I need is a little moisture and some colour on my toenails...nothing major! I am proud of you too. I am beautiful because you are so much kinder to me and it feels like you believe in me, that we are a team. Here’s to another 40 years together!

Much love,
Your body