As someone who practices and teaches about your relationship with and connection to your body, I have a tendency to look at all life experiences from that perspective.

In my practice and in my classes, I look at how each unique soul can more comfortably live within their body, and own it in a way that allows them to create what they want from their own information as opposed to the inherited genetic, cultural, societal or ancestral information that might steer them in a different direction.

A body comes filled with genetic information, abilities, tendencies and dispositions. A spirit enters a body with a unique history of lifetimes, growth and experiences – positive, negative and everything in between. Finding balance between spirit and body is the daily exercise of life. And establishing ownership of that physical body is a constant challenge that evolves with time.

I got my first tattoo almost 2 years ago as I approached the milestone of leaving my 50’s and entering my 60’s. There was a time when I really didn’t believe I would get a tattoo. I watched the younger generations begin to collect a variety of artwork on their bodies and thought that, if I was their age I would most likely be covered in ink also. I simply thought it wasn’t for me at this point in my life.

However, as with everything in life, thoughts change and I suddenly found myself dreaming about what I would like to have permanently inked on my skin. My youngest artistic daughter provided the answer to that question with a design of hers I saw one day and decided that was it.

I absolutely loved the whole experience and the resulting artwork on my body! And then, a month or two later, I found my appreciation for the image changing. One day I saw it differently. It didn’t look like the original image. It had changed. I found myself thinking that I’d made a mistake, that I did not want this image on my skin permanently. My heart sank!

In a meditation, I recognized that there was energy on my tattoo from people who had seen it and formed a judgment or picture about it. Their concept of what it was, what it represented, whether they liked it or not was obscuring my enjoyment of it. All I had to do was clean off that energy and I was able to enjoy it again.

This realization reminded me once again of how a physical body becomes the effect of layers and layers of other people’s concepts, pictures and judgments every single day. This build up can make it very hard to enjoy and love your body. Meditation and healing can help you to release negativity from your body and find your connection with it again.

Now this inked image on my skin helps me recognize when it’s time for a little self-healing. Any time I see my tattoo change, I am reminded to meditate and clear the build up of other energies from my physical and spiritual space.

Another healing aspect of tattooing comes from the creation of a permanent, very personal stamp or mark chosen by you, separate from the hereditary make-up of the body you moved into for this life. We all have aspects of our body that we are not entirely thrilled about – some of which are not possible to change. And then there is the overwhelming pressure to look a certain way – again mostly unattainable for the vast majority.

In this way, placing a piece of art on the body provides an avenue for acceptance, enjoyment, ownership and love of your body that helps to supersede negativity.

And that’s a healing gift!