One of the greatest honors of this work is connecting with clients and being trusted to hear and hold their stories of cultivating self-love.

So many of us have been or are on a journey to deepen and grow our relationship with our bodies, and I’m truly inspired by the reflections I’ve heard from clients over the years.

While many of these stories are not mine to share on a public platform, over the years I’ve reached out to the Illuminate Boudoir community at times to ask if anyone might be willing to share a piece of their story in their own words, and I’m so humbled by the generous responses I received. A few years ago, I created the “In their own skin” series - an archive of stories written by clients about their boudoir experience. This fall, I invited clients to write a love letter to themselves and then created short reels with clients reading their words aloud “in their own voice,” and I’m thrilled to be sharing all six of those virtual love letters here!

May their stories bring you strength, solidarity, and a seed of brave inspiration to encourage you on your self-love journey.

The prompt:

Write a letter to your body, or share what you love and appreciate about yourself.

“A love letter to myself”

“When I was younger, I was so focused on what everyone else might think about my body that I didn’t stop to appreciate how I felt about it. I love my smile and the crinkles around my eyes that mean I have smiled and laughed a lot. I love my butt! I really had no idea how damn cute it was. I love that I showcase my creative spirit through my hair colors and growing number of tattoos. I love how soft and warm I look in one moment, and then an absolute badass in the next. I love how I don’t give a damn about anyone else’s opinion of my body. And I am so grateful I have these photos to remind me of all these things.” -Megan

“A letter to my body”

“I have come to realize that my body is supposed to change and grow, just like my mind. My body has carried me through some of the toughest times in my life, but it’s also carried me through some of my happiest. Looking back on my photos, I don’t jump to my perceived flaws. I see a strong, confident, and comfortable woman. And then I remind myself that it’s me.” -J

“An open letter to my body”

“An open letter to my body: You and I have had quite the journey, haven’t we? I’m learning how to listen to the messages you send me, learning a language near forgotten and at times a little cryptic, but each day our bond is stronger. I think about the women in my lineage and the things that have happened in my ancestry on repeat: violence, poverty, sacrifice, not enough love. If our bond can become strong and stay strong, maybe that part of the lineage will come to an end with me. Maybe together, you and I can create a new way of being in this world for me, for the memory of those who came before me, and for my daughters.” -Cat

“What I appreciate about my body”

“Today, I appreciate my guts. I don’t always feel gusty, but what a gift to notice myself moving boldly forward trusting my intuition, listening to my body. I have come a long way. If younger me could see this, ooooh she’d be awestruck! Honestly, she’d be shocked. But she would be so proud. I’d like to think it would be comforting and healing to see me in our fullness.” -AJ

“Dear body”

“Dear body, you’ve changed, and not how I expected. Your curves and edges have become a landscape of time and experiences and love and adventure and change. But if mother nature doesn’t discriminate in the beauty she shares, why should I? Who am I to say that the way my stomach curves doesn’t deserve to be celebrated like a strong river carving space into a bend? Who am I to say that my pale thighs don’t deserve to see sunlight when glaciers the same color have crushed mountains out of their way without caring who their audience was. If I stand on mountaintops and yell ‘Wow, it’s so beautiful,’ at all of the rolling hills and valleys below, why is it so hard to say the same about the landscape of my own body? Dear body, I wasn’t expecting you to be this way, but I’m so glad that you are. You are so beautiful.” -K

“Letter to my body”

“If I had known back then what I know now, I might not have been so hard on you. I berated you for being different when I should have just stopped and stared in awe of all you do. While I was so fixated on how you look, you were becoming not only the house but the home where my soul can live and thrive and grow. I wasted all those years drawing comparison. No more. I know better now. My precious body, you were built exactly right, just for me.” -M