You already know this: As healers/magic-makers/witches/priestesses/diviners/et all, the way we view our bodies affects our craft.

After all, we bring the ethereal into this realm through our bodies. We touch our tools, our clients and students, our fellow practitioners. Our craft is to bring the symbolic subconscious forward into this reality.
We put forth so much effort and intention into being vessels of the God of Your Knowing, and so often a healthy relationship with our bodies is glossed over. 
How can our body stories NOT affect our magic? Think of it like a magnifying glass focusing a ray of sun. When the lens is dirty, it just doesn’t work to bring forth all that power on the other side.
When we spin out on anxiety over our jeans not fitting, or eat crap food on the regular, or not bless our meals, we become less effective vessels for the Divine. 
When we move when our body wants in the way that it wants, and eat pure, healthful food we appreciate, and take a bath, get a pedi, receive some of that good touch or whatever self-care means to you, we are primed for being used as a tool.
Haven’t you felt that? Where you find your groove from the moment you wake up, nourish yourself, get things done and feel extraordinary. Of course, we all have.

And as healers, to fulfill our mission in this life, we must have those days as often as possible.

Now, my issue has come with short-circuiting the anxiety around my body. I’ve been vocal about my recovery from my disordered eating, body dysmorphia and compulsive exercising–and guess what, it still pops up.
Story: I’ve joined this new gym near my spot that I LOVE. My body is into going hard right now: HIIT, cycling, dragging heavy stuff down the block. I feel so strong, so fierce–like the Viking Shieldmaiden Lagertha, poised to kick patriarchal ass with my crazy-fuerte THIGHS.
I went to put on a pair of (Ok, snug-to-begin-with) skinny jeans and…ugh: They barely fit. I mean, they barely fit before, but now they barely, barely fit. Before I could intellectualize my spin-out, it was there. The incessant, berating thoughts, feeling nauseated, terrible about myself, my body, unworthiness and worthlessness.
I was useless all day–completely ineffectual as I tried to pull myself out of my funk. Even my dude, who is amazing at cheering me up with his utter wit and charm, couldn’t turn it around with “Your thighs are too wonderful for those jeans.”

Kicker: I wear jeans maaaaaybee once a week in my day to day life.

I’m a leggings woman: I need to move.

Nevermind the fact that these thighs are my power source, my connection to Earth, my past and the grounding and centeredness that will spring me forward on my path, like a sprinter at the gunshot. (I feel an entire post dedicated to thighs coming on.)
But in that chaotic, distracted state of mind, could I conduct anything worthwhile? Absolutely not. My connection to my power was completely obscured–my self-loathing was blocking all of it. This is just one example, but this disconnection happens whenever we lose sight that

we are perfect and exactly where we are supposed to be, mind, body, soul.

So many of us walk the path of the Wounded Healer. We create the space to allow others to heal themselves, because we know what it’s like to be broken in our very specific way. I have the history I do, and feel called to the work I do because of it.
Because we have this in our past, because it’s where we draw our power from, we must be discerning in what role our past wounds play in our healing and manifestation. We must hold our past wound, and the clear vessel that will allow us to effectively do our Work .

When we feel embodied, and love it there, we are most potent, clear and effective as healers.

So, here’s a little ritual I like to do when I have those feelings of control and inadequacy swirling around in my brain:

Ritual for Body Anxiety

• Put on your comfiest clothing–either pajamas or yoga pants, where you won’t be distracted by what you’re wearing. Then light a candle, or some sage, or both.
• Lay on the ground and spread out. If you can be outside in the grass, all the better.
• Begin by just feeling your physical body on the ground: what the Earth is like beneath you, all of the places your body is touching the ground, all of the places you’re not touching the ground. Take deep breaths, feeling where the air inflates your body, where you feel each breath enter and exit.
• Starting with your toes and moving upward, concentrate on each body part and how it feels physically–maybe your toes ache or your feet are sore–and then why you appreciate that body part in what they do,  not how they look.

My ankles feel crunchy. I appreciate my ankles because they move around and around  and hold me up when I’m on my tiptoes.

• When an unhelpful or distracting thought comes in, just come back to your breath, come back to feeling the ground under you. When you’re centered continue.
• When you’ve reached the top of your head, take a full body breath, appreciating your glorious body for doing all these amazing things for you, conducting your healing powers, all without asking too much in return.
• Finally, check in: What do you need right now? A nap? A snack? A shower? A walk? Do you need to sit in silence, feeling this breath breathe you? If you can, go do what your body needs.

Remember, you are magnificent. You chose this body because it is the most perfect vessel for you to do you work. Your body is the cells and fibers of your ancestors rearranged, their gift to you. Treat it respectfully, sweetly, preciously.

Ready to craft some serious ritual for body peace? Not to mention relationships, abundance and general holiness. Everyday Ritual: A Course In Crafting Sacred Ceremony is happening April 1! Learn more here.