The Dancer's Creed

Read this mantra if you want to develop love and admiration for your own body

This is my body
There are many kinda like it
(and none just quite like it)
But this one is mine
 
My body is my temple
My body is my home
This body, the only one I can call my own
 
My body gives me life!
I must master it as I must master my mind
If I am to master my art
As well as my life
 
Without me, my body is useless
Without my body, I am useless
 
I must use my body true
I must work on it each day
Love it, respect and cherish it
In every possible way
And use it to overcome life’s challenges
Dancing through difficulty
Turning life into play
 
Through depression, stress or anxiety
I will dance
If I feel anger, sadness, or pain
I will dance
When I am tired, bored, uninspired
I will dance
Through rejection, disappointment or betrayal
I will dance
In sickness and in health
I will always dance
 
I will learn my body’s weaknesses, its strengths, its parts
Its flaws, its quirks and everything that it loves and hates
 
And I will nourish and maintain my body
For utmost health and function
As long as I live
 
I am one with my body
 
Before the Universe I swear this creed
My body and I are the vessels for our art
We are more than survivors of life
We are the masters of our life
We are the saviors of our life
So be it, until the day we die

(This Creed is an adaptation of the USMC's "Rifleman's Creed")