A Blessing for Your Skin
by Rebekah Vickery
You will need:
A shallow bowl of water
A bit of dirt or soil
Oil (can be essential oil or vegetable/olive oil from your kitchen)
In this contemplative exercise, we will honor the sacredness of our skin as a good boundary for our bodies.
As we start, I’d invite you to place your feet on the floor and take a moment to look around the room. See where the windows are, where the door is.
And then I’d invite you to gently place your hand somewhere on your body where you are able to touch your skin. Take a moment and notice the feel of your skin. Is it soft? Calloused? Scarred? Smooth or bumpy?
I would then invite you to consider what lies beneath the boundary of your skin. Imagine muscles and tendons, your skeletal structure, and the red and white blood cells moving amongst them. A vibrant and energetic system is keeping you alive, and your skin provides the kind boundary that protects that system from harmful exposure.
I’d invite you to take a moment, and thank your skin for being a good boundary. It might look simply saying, thank you. It may look more specific. Perhaps there are specific ways that your skin has provided protection, especially in areas that are more calloused, such as the soles of your feet.
I would then invite you to take a bit of the soil or dirt onto your fingers and tenderly place them on the part of your skin you have just blessed. What are the ways that your skin has borne the cost of holding the boundary? Has it been sunburned? Windblown? Cut or bruised? As you acknowledge the specific ways it has been hurt, gently rub the dirt in.
I would then invite you to dip your fingers into the bowl of water, and then place the water over the dirt on your skin. What are the ways you can recommit to kindness for your skin in this area? Perhaps you want to practice lotioning. Maybe it would feel good to stretch that area more, or have a warm washcloth or ice on it to ease soreness that might be present underneath the skin. As you commit to a practice of kindness for that area, gently let the water settle onto your skin.
Finally, I’d invite you to take a couple drops of oil. Remember your gratitude you’ve expressed to your skin, and I would invite you to speak those words of “thank you” once again as you bring the oil to your skin.
Take a moment to look around the room once more, recognizing where you find yourself. And take one last breath in and exhale.
Thank you for joining me.
Rebekah Vickery is a trauma therapist, group facilitator, and acrylic artist located in the beautiful and wild Pacific Northwest. In all of her work with people, art, and words, she loves engaging themes of grief, transition, and hope.
