Thank you, Father, for my two perfectly imperfect feet that have carried me this far in life!
I recently had a routine screening mammogram.
I get this potentially life-saving test every 16 months or so (I don’t go right on the one-year mark–my choice), and praise God, all was normal. Like many women, I get anxious prior to what is a really quick test. I think about all the women I know who have died from, survived, or are currently going through a breast cancer journey, and I am so grateful that I have made it this far in life with two healthy breasts that produced ample milk to feed my babies.
I pray before this important diagnostic test. I’ve shared this little fact with coaching clients and friends, many of whom are now doing this themselves. After closing the door to the changing room and putting on that paper smock, I kneel and pray, asking God to bless the technician, the equipment, the radiologist who reads my images, and, yes, my breasts. I pray in the name of Jehovah Rapha–our God who heals–and I ask that if any abnormality is found, that it be easily treated.
I realized after this most recent screening that I have not blessed my body in a long time.
What do I mean by this?
For a couple years, I said a blessing over my body every day, laying hands on myself, praising and praying. Why I stopped, I haven’t a clue… I just stopped, which is funny, considering how I sit each day and have my prayer and devotional time, and I come to my yoga mat each day, spending part of the time in stillness.
I have no excuses.
That’s changing as I write this, and I am going to resume my daily body blessing.
But I want to share it with you, too!
Our bodies are different, and we are different people, so your blessing may vary from mine, and it’s a-okay!
To begin, sit in a comfortable place, but not so comfortable you’ll doze off! I prefer sitting on my yoga mat in Easy Pose or sitting on one of my dining room chairs with my feet on the floor. Wherever you choose to sit, take a few cleansing breaths before beginning, inhaling through your nose and exhaling thought your mouth.
I usually start with my feet and move up my body, but again, you may want to reverse the order, and lay your hands on those places you are blessing.
I pray from my heart, so the exact words of my body blessing will change; but the intent is still there, and the Lord knows my intentions!
Here’s an example of my body blessing:
Father, thank your for creating me as a unique image bearer (lofty calling!) of You.
Thank You for my two feet that have carried me this far in life. They’ve been broken, cut, sprinkled with fungus here and there, but they are my feet. Bless them as they carry me through this day in service to You.
Bless my two legs, Lord, and thank you for how they have also walked me though life. Lead me where to walk today.
Thank you for my reproductive organs, Father, the parts of my body that allowed me to release eggs and to conceive, carry, and deliver two healthy boys.Thank you that I’ve had no female issues with my health. Bless these body parts today.
Bless my organs of excretion, especially my kidneys, bladder, colon, and stomach. I praise you for minimal damage from those years of purging when I was anorexic and for a clean colonoscopy. Let these organs continue to function in optimal health.
Thank you for he organs housed within my chest/upper abdomen: My heart, liver, pancreas, gall bladder, bile ducts, lungs. I pray it be your will to allow them to function well today, doing for my body what they are supposed to do. I especially pray your protection and healing over my lungs, that there is no damage from the secondhand smoke I breathed as a child and youth. Thank you, Father.
Bless my breasts, Lord. I praise you for the milk they produced for my babies, and I thank you that my children and I had no issues nursing. Thank you for the good health they have had these many years.
Bless my throat, Lord, and everything housed in m neck area: My thyroid gland, esophagus, trachea, and vocal cords. Keep them healthy, and help me to speak your truth and to own my own voice.
Bless my head and every part of it: My eyes, ears, nose, sinus cavities, mouth, teeth, gums, hair, ears, brain, and mind. Keep me clear of mind.
Bless my bones, muscles, blood, nerves, skin, and cells.
Bless this temple of your Spirit, and help me make wise choices to nurture it through eating the proper foods, moving, and getting enough sleep.Help me be YOU to everyone I meet.
In your holy name I pray,
Amen
Praying over our divinely created bodies can–in my opinion–shift our energy and create better health.
One of my mentor coaches, the wonderful Helene Van Manen, is also a talented musician who released Earth Chants-Earth Songs several years ago with her husband Dave. I love singing along to this playlist while on road trips. It’s a beautiful collection of songs, with one that’s called “Every Little Cell in My Body is Healthy.” You can listen to it on Apple Music and other platforms or buy the CD: https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Chants-Songs-Manen-Helene/dp/B00TZKB8PW
I always feel better for having sung this song or when singing any hymn of praise. I believe the act of singing something good and the vibrations we create affect our bodies.
I encourage you to spend five minutes a day, laying hands on yourself and blessing the parts of your body. It’s an act of reverence and thanksgiving, and it may even help you develop some healthier lifestyle habits.
Here’s to good health, making wise choices, and praising and thanking our Heavenly Father for the body that houses your soul and that is your vessel for being Christ to others.
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.- ! Corinthians 6:19
Amy Walton is a certified Christian life coach and a certified grief coach who also teaches yoga. She’s an RYT200 with additional certifications in yin, trauma-sensitive yoga, and yoga for disordered eating. She’s currently working on her 300-hour certification. Amy is a big believer in working with one’s breath, energy, and body on a regular basis, and she offers private sessions in person and online. Connect with her at amywaltoncoaching@gmail.com.
