j Now identify the different textures in different parts of your body; e.g., rough, smoother, dry, damp, smooth-skinned, and covered with hair. j Touch your skin and notice the difference in temperature in different parts of your body. j What are the changes in your body while you are observing or touching it? j Which parts of your body have you never seen, touched or felt before? j Which parts of your body do you usually prefer not to look at? Why?
REFLECT This is just the first contact. On another day, when you are feeling a little more confident, try to see those parts of yourself that you have never seen up close or observed in detail. If required, use a mirror. For example, you could observe your vulva, the inside of your mouth, or your scalp. Dare to look at and touch yourself. Your body is a whole new territory to be discovered, learnt, and explored. Learn to enjoy it and find out what gives it pleasure… All this is part of your process of appropriation of your body and the identification of its strengths. Exercise 2: Develop your imagination Below is a poem by the Nicaraguan writer Gioconda Belli. The poem is called “Pequeñas lecciones de erotismo” (Brief Lessons in Eroticism). Create an ambience that is comfortable, private and has the conditions to make you feel relaxed (e.g., soft music, or incense) Then slowly read the poem and try to lose yourself in the images that it evokes…
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