Body Positivity: Learn To Love Your Body

Body consciousness is accepting the fact that there is no 'standard' of body, there is no Universal perfection or one overarching definition of beauty. It's all a matter of perception. The consciousness of the body is knowing and being aware that bodies come in all shapes and sizes and they are all incredible because they house you. When we are born, we are pure, we are love and it's all we know. Love for ourselves and for others. However, such is life, as we grow, experience, live, watch, learn, mimic, navigate and try to understand we learn different ways of being, thought patterns and behaviours that become so deeply ingrained in us it's just 'the way we are'.

After years of possibly disliking, or worse - hating - your body, it's not as easy as just waving a magic wand to change.

It takes time, and practice and new ways of being and doing to unlearn all of the negative patterns we possess. But the most important this to remember is that you are a creature of magic, you were put on this earth with infinite potential and unlimited creativity. You are creative life energy in motion and you need to see yourself as such. No matter what your story is, it's time to push stop and start fresh, start within and reconnect with your inner self, increase your awareness and acceptance and start there. 

I grew up skinny and tall, people might assume that was an easy body to grow up in and I'm sure others looked at my 'tall and skinny' as body attritubtes that wished they had. However, this body came with a lot of lessons to understand, accept and overcome. 

Judgment has many facets and ultimately, is more often than not, a reflection of our inner insecutiries and what's going on inside.

The stories we hear, the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we make up, the stories that have the power to limit our consciousness. For me, I grew up with the story that using my body was an easy path to success and certainly much easier than convincing people that I also had a brain, so in that respect modeling came in very handy. However, working in the modeling industry isn't at all as glamourous as it seems. And working purely being judged on my looks and body day in and day out, was very unsatisfying, and didn't serve me then or later down the track when I had to unlearn so much of what was pre-programmed in from that point in my life. 

Learning how to live with my body was a process, a process that took time.

But with time, comes wisdom. For me, body awareness started with acceptance and care, maybe even forgiveness to the way in which we speak to ourselves and the stories we tell. Forgiveness of how we have treated our body and what we have put it through, physically and emotionally over time. It's a funny realisation for me that the first time I loved my body, really really loved it, was during my first pregnancy. I loved how it changed shape, my breasts filled out which made me feel more womanly, and ultimately I was in awe of what it was doing, what it was capable of and how it was supporting this little life growing inside of me to thrive. Finally, other women stopped looking at me as if I were a threat. The sad part was the only person who didn't find me beautiful was the father of my child. In hindsight I now see how this dimmed my creative spirit and blocked me from tapping into my infinite creativity. It dulled my magic. 

This was a really big catalyst for me in realising over the years that body consciousness, appreciation and self love was an inside job.

The fact that I loved me with a bump was partly because I had finally found validation from the outside world, but how could I grow strong from within? For me, it was when I started to sit with myself in silence, carve out the space to be. Meditation, Yin Yoga, Shavasana. And when I started to find that inner calm, that light from within, I could start working on this beautiful body gifted to me to strengthen and nurture it during Vinyasa, Dance and Breathwork. 

I'm telling you this today because we all have a story, we all have a body and we are all incredibly unique.

Your body is your body, and it is amazing, love it or change anything you don't necessarily love but make sure you're changing it for the right reasons. And for the changes that aren't possible, relish them because what a waste it is not to love ourselves as if we were our best friend. Because can I let you in on a little secret? You are your best friend. And when you love you and nurture you and accept you like you would your best friend, your body thrives. As humans we have the power to tap into our unlimited creative power, we can learn and unlearn and relearn and for me, going on a journey of body awareness to unconditionally love, appreciate and thrive in my body has been some of my life's best work.

Here are some tips from my journey on how to become more in tune with your body with the end goal of loving everything that makes you, you:

• Sit with yourself in silence
• Connect your mind with your body through breath
• Repeat positive body affirmations
  'I am beautiful just as I am'
  'I love my body'
  'I am grateful to my body for all that it does for me'
  'I am worthy of love'
• Stand stark naked in front of the mirror with admiration. Look at your body staring back at you and tell it how much you love it, how beautiful it is, how grateful you are to it for housing you
• Hug yourself, physically offer your body love
• Nourish your skin and body with soulful organic produce, eat mindfully and find a scent that elevates your spirit
• Make the primary focus of exercise be 'feeling' good and not 'looking' good- Practice speaking to yourself daily with positive self talk, each day find one (or multiple) thing you love about your body and express gratitude
• Connect with your sense of touch, go for a swim, feel the wind stroke your skin, sit on grass and feel the earth, have a bath, wear nice fabrics, give yourself a massage with oils, make love.
• Dress in colours that make you feel good
• Don't compare, if you find yourself down a rabbit hole of internet or social media, remove yourself and know that you are you and someone else is someone else and we are all equally as beautiful and wonderful and unique
• Take up space, inside and out - breathe, move, dance, spread your arms until you feel your energy expand
• Stop thinking 'I'll be happy when____' maybe the blank is 'lose a few pounds' or 'are more toned' or 'have clearer skin' the options are endless and we all feel like this from time to time but make a conscious decision to be happy, feel happy now and engage in activities and rituals that help you stay in this space.
• Start each day with self care - join morning yoga - PJ Yoga
• Make peace with yourself, forgive yourself for the way you have spoken to yourself or behaved in the pass, accept your body for all its beauty and move forward from this mindset
• You are energy, you have unlimited creativity and wisdom within, you are whole, and you are wholesome just as you are.

special thanks to @minastormgirls