Learn to See Yourself with Compassion

December 10, 2015

Introducing Body Peace!

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I’m beyond excited to finally share what I’ve got planned for the Be Your Own Beloved workshops this year.

Introducing the Body Peace Program! This is a year long journey to make peace with your body using the tool of self-portraiture to shift from a critical to a compassionate relationship with your self-image and self-esteem. It follows up on the transformation and spark that the original Beloved has created in people’s lives and takes it a step further.

Made up of 8 powerful programs throughout 2016 and the compassionate community the Be Your Own Beloved programs are known for, the Body Peace program help you change the way you relate to your body and treat yourself.

The idea of doing a year long program was sparked a few years ago but took a while for me to settle in on the right balance of empowering activities combined with space to let it soak in, space to let ourselves go at our own pace. The plan was solidified about doing this program in 2016 after I noticed how many alumni of the Be Your Own Beloved were returning for multiple sessions even within the same year…it was clear that a more continued community experience as well as continuing to have selfie activities and encouragement was something folks who took these classes were yearning for.

The program launched registration last week and we just started to gather together in our community Facebook Group leading up to class and as folks join in on the program I’ll get you all set up and you’ll be welcomed with open arms into the community.

I can’t wait to see what this year brings and can’t wait to dig deeper into creating pockets of body peace with the folks who join in. This program isn’t about never having a negative thought about our bodies again, but rather building self-trust and our own voice about how we feel about our bodies to counteract what our inner critic might say.

Much like with all my classes, the activities are derived from my own practice of using selfies as a tool to heal negative body-image and make peace with myself through the camera. As I’ve been teaching these classes over the past 4 years, I’ve been noticing what changes when we continue this practice over a longer span of time and well, what I found was that life (and my relationship with my inner critic) just got a lot more peaceful. I’d been at war with myself for along time so this peace was a welcome relief.

So that’s a big part of why the program is called Body Peace. To give us space to make peace with our body and who we see it. To cultivate more spaces of peace from our inner critic.

The program is made up of 8 classes and you can find out about them all here! There is an option to pay in full or do 2 payments instead (and you can find them both on the Body Peace Page).

The first program is called Selfie Compassion and it’s actually starting January 1st! It’s our foundational program for the program as a whole and will help us root in tools of self-compassion and mindfulness that will carry us throughout the year.

You can also join in for the Selfie Compassion class on it’s own and find out more about it here!

While both of these were created with folks who’ve taken the original Be Your Own Beloved class, you don’t have to be alumni to join in! Though the original class is definitely something to be experienced so if you haven’t joined in yet, there is a new session coming up in February and you can sign up here!

If you have any questions about the classes (especially if you’re really nervous about taking a class but something is drawing you to none the less) don’t hesitate to connect with me via the contact form! These classes are naturally going to be outside our comfort zone and that’s who I created the for…the classes are designed to help us stand in our power, to see our own beauty, to cultivate our own voice about how we feel about ourselves and our body and that is all vulnerable work but that’s what makes it so transformative too!

December 7, 2015

Make 2016 Your Year

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Last year around this time I had the honour of joining in on a super lovely offering from Hannah the of Becoming Who You Are website called Self-Care 101…it was such a lovely collection of E-Books and offerings and I’ve been savouring them throughout the year.

I get offers to join in on these kind of bundles every so often and its important to me that it’s one that I really stand behind and includes offerings that are in line with the work I do here at Be Your Own Beloved and Hannah has a way of gathering the kinds of books that feel like just the right fit. This one includes offerings from some beloved peers like Jennifer Lee, Mara Glatzel, Tanya Geisler, Kate Courageous, Molly Mahar and some wonderful folks who’s work I’m really excited to explore in these offerings. I hope it’ll be that beautiful mix of folks who’s work you already know and love and folks who’s work might bring new awakenings.

I’m excited to be including the Beloved Beginnings self-paced class in this bundle. You receive the class alongside 16 other ebooks, e-courses and programs for just $79 (a 90% saving!) starting todayMonday 7th December.

Here are the products you can find in Make 2016 Your Year:

– The Fierce Love Course by Molly Mahar (value $97)
– Beloved Beginnings by Vivienne McMaster (value $29)
– The Wanderlust Workbook by Sarah Von Bargen (value $15)
– Board of Your Life by Tanya Geisler (value $150)
– Living on Purpose by Jacob Sokol (value $97)
– Transition Made Easy by Ashley Wilhite (value $49)
– Homecoming: Take a Delightful Journey Back Home by Cigdem Kobu (value $99)
– How to Start Journaling for Personal Growth by Hannah Braime (value $31)
– Body, Mind and Soul Cleanse by Anne-Sophie Reinhardt (value $69)
– She Is Radiant: The Collection by Claire Baker (value $39)
– Rewired Workshop Bundle by Mara Glatzel (value $99)
– 21 Days to Declutter Your Life by Mari McCarthy (value $23)
– Playtime With Your Inner Muse by Jennifer Lee (value $27)
– The Journal Writer’s Guide to Staying Started by Nathan Ohren (value $79)
– Finding a Financial Advisor You Can Trust by Barbara Stanny (value $10)
– Be Your Own Hero by Hannah Braime (value $40)
– The Shift Plan by Kate Courageous (Bonus)
– A suggested lesson plan so you can work through each “module” of the course without feeling overwhelmed (Bonus)

The total value of Make 2016 Your Year is over $900, but for 72 hours between 7th and 10th December, you can get these products for just $79.

You can find out more here and get this amazing bundle of books to give your 2016 a beautiful boost of support through these powerful resources!

December 6, 2015

A Look Back at The Hours Project

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About this time last year, I got invited to participate in a really wonderful collective project for 2015 called The Hours. I loved the idea behind it where each month, all of the photographers involved were going to take a photo at the same hour (in their own time zone of course). We started in January at 7am, February at 8am and so on…leading all the way to 6pm in December.

Each week more photographers photos are shared and my last photo of the year just went up on the Hours Website today (you’ll find it under the 6pm clock) so I thought in honour of the year coming to a close I thought I’d share a look back on the photos I shared for the project throughout the year.

I decided right from the start to make them self-portraits. Looking back, it would have made it a bit easier to have the subject matter wide open, but well…being a part of the visual story is just what I do. But other than a bit of myself in it, I let there be no pressure for it to be a certain kind of selfie so a lot of them did end up to include my hands!

I’m really glad I took part as it pushed me to get out and take photos in hours that I normally wouldn’t. I go on regular photo walks throughout the week but they are often in the 12-3pm range or around sunset during the springtime so this was a great challenge especially in the earlier and later hours of the day.

Head on over to the Hours website to check out the images from all the photographers!

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12 pm

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November 24, 2015

She is No Longer Invisible

She is there.

Under the cat eye glasses and near constant liquid eyeliner.

Under the little bangs. Under the smile.

Under the clothes that make her feel good in her skin.

She worries sometimes that without them she’d be invisible again, to you.

To herself.

But she won’t be.

That I’ll make sure of.

Because this has never just been about external perceptions.

This, from the start has been about reclaiming her inherent worthiness.

No matter what she wears or whether it meets anyone’s approval.

She is there and she is no longer invisible.

With or without her masks.

Spilled out in response to today’s prompt in the Be Your Own Beloved class (and the much loved February Session is coming back again in 2016…cause its the perfect time to invite in more self-compassion)!

October 26, 2015

Selfie Self-Care for the Grey Days

I looked at the forecast for the next couple weeks this morning and it can be described in one four letter word: rain.

I live in Vancouver, Canada so really it’s not surprise. I’ve lived here for a decade now so I’ve learned what I need to best thrive in a rainy winter. I’ve learned that for me, a pivotal part of getting through the winter here without getting the blues is to not put my camera away. Even if it rains. Even if it’s grey and nothing is blooming anymore. Even then. Especially then.

You see, this whole self-portrait path the whole Be Your Own Beloved process began for me as I was coming out of a depression years ago. I needed to learn how to fill my own well again and thanks to digital photography and our phones starting to have cameras around that time, I started going on a walk around the neighbourhood with a camera and seeing what beauty I could find.

These photo walks not only lead me through that time in a way that helped me learn to fill up my own well again, but it has ever since. It wasn’t something that I did just then to find happiness again. It’s something I do weekly ever since (if not more) to keep my well filled.

This weekend I could feel the lows tapping me on the shoulder so this morning I grabbed my camera as I headed out to a cafe to get some work done and took the long way that led me through the community garden. I go to this same one all the time but what I’ve learned over the years is that even though I couldn’t imagine there would be anything new, anything different than the other day when I was there…there is always beauty of some sort awaiting me.

This time it was a flower that had fallen on the ground that caught my eye and became my muse for the next 10 minutes.

After taking a few dozen photos I left it there in hopes someone else coming to the garden for self-care would see it and feel it’s beauty.

On the walk I was also thinking of how grateful I am that Be Your Own Beloved is starting next week. I like to offer it in November even though it might not be the sunniest month for most of us (unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere of course) but its because its not the sunniest month that it becomes more important than ever to offer ourselves this kind of self-care.

Cause the class and these photo walks really isn’t just about ‘getting the shot’, or only taking selfies when it’s gorgeously happy and we’re feeling good and rockin’ a fabulous outfit. Sure, it’s a lot easier to be kind to ourselves, to be our own beloved when those things are in place. But we’re worthy of that kind of love all the time.

It’s actually more about building our resilience in showing up for ourselves when we’re not feeling that way. That’s not to say we won’t get kick-ass photos (cause oh my gosh we will) but no matter what the season, this process is really less about the photo and so much more about the ways we show up for ourselves despite what our inner critic says, despite the old stories we see in our photos and yes, despite the rain or weather.

So rain or shine, I’m excited to dig into these prompts with the class this coming month and celebrate all the incredible photos you’ll take and the vulnerability and bravery that we step into in the process.

Come join us!