Be You and Be Seen!
Find peace in your body.
Find peace in your body.
In a chaotic world, everyone deserves to find peace in their body.
No matter how hard we try to avoid it, we’ve all had a body swap daydream. But the thing is, the media has trained us to focus on, what they define as imperfections, and ignore the rest entirely. What?! Not okay. We’re a whole person and all we see when we look in the mirror is a scar or a bumpy thigh or some other very real part of our body. The reality is, while we’re fixated on what we’d like to change about our body, someone is admiring it’s uniqueness.
It’s a vicious cycle but what would happen if we tuned out our inner critic and tuned into what was being reflected back to us? With the exception of trolls - they get zero air time.
Here are a few embrace your body practices we love:
Don’t break your own soul. Be mindful of your inner narrative about your body. When you notice your thoughts drift to the negative, stop and go to a place of love. Imagine saying the things in your head to 6, 12, or 18 year old you, or even last week you. You wouldn’t dare!
Surround yourself with people who see and support you. We talk a lot about being our own hype person and committing to self-care to shift our inner narrative but there is immeasurable value in leaning on community to remind us of our beauty and worth and support our self-love practice. Find your people and listen to them.
Graciously receive and accept compliments. When someone takes the time to appreciate something about us, really let it sink in. The way we see ourselves is very different from how others see us. We have blindspots! Be open to the love!
Wear what makes you feel good. If we feel good in what we’re wearing, we can focus on what we’re doing rather than worrying about how we look doing it. Create mental space for joy!
Identify what you love about your body and lean into it. If that feels overwhelming, start small, or neutral even, and work up to love. Choose to focus on the shape of your wrists, the glow of your skin after putting lotion on, or your nail polish color. Ask yourself these questions:
What parts of my body do I love? Make that the focal point of your look.
What parts of my body am I indifferent about? These are the supporting points of your look.
Understand your shape. Some looks just aren’t for us, and that’s ok. Nothing can kill your vibe faster than trying clothes on that were simply not designed for your shape. So don’t do it. The more we can identify what we want to accentuate and develop our personal style — check out our The Art of Style blog post for more on that — the easier it is to find pieces we feel good in.
Dress for you, not them. When we dress for what makes us feel cute and comfortable (and that’s different for everyone), we release the need to be on trend or fit into a box. Consider these questions when thinking about your look:
When do I feel most like myself? Shape that into your style!
What pieces in my closet make me feel the most comfortable in my body? Make them your heroes!
Above all else we need to be gentle and patient on our self-love journey. It’s an ongoing practice. We must embrace our bodies for what they are now, not how they might look in the future, because all we have is today. Dress the way you want, now. Find a way to feel authentically comfortable in your own skin, now. Wear that ‘special’ dress in the back of your closet, now. Don’t waste your beauty today on an uncertain tomorrow.
For more body positive, self-love support, follow us @femalecollective.
