Part of what comes with being human is that we are born beautiful and  innocent, connected to our divinity, and then we undergo years of forgetting this happy state.
Maybe this is because we live in a culture that says it’s conceited to think well of ourselves. Or maybe, sadly, we had our divinity drummed out of us by critical parents or teachers.
I remember a student I taught in private sessions who would say when she came up against a particularly difficult pose, “I hate my body!”
It took me years to get around to loving my physical body. You’d think I would have had great appreciation for my body as the Temple of my Soul from years of yoga training. It doesn’t necessarily follow.
Actually the most positive body image reinforcement I was given came via some remarkable workshops I did which were clothing optional. It certainly challenged my notion of feeling comfortable in my own skin to be part of these residential weekends.
I learned that some people we would judge to be beautiful whether they are clothed or naked have terrible body images; on the other side, some of those who are far from perfect physical specimens are quite comfortable in themselves with being overweight, out of condition, or blemished in some way.
Yesterday I spoke of the notion that we are not our bodies, minds or emotions, but I didn’t mean we should dismiss them. Our job as humans is to learn acceptance. The yoga way is partly through learning detachment so we have enough space to discover our original divine Self.
A filmmaker has created some dvds to help you, as he says,  “uncover your original self, the joyful, unguarded, bold spirit you truly are.” Here’s a link that you could explore to see the art of yoga “undressed”.