BodyAwe

This series compares the conventional approach to beauty to the natural approach, and is designed to help you make choices for yourself as to which one, or which elements of each one, are best for you.

Conventional vs Natural

What do I mean by Conventional and Natural approaches to beauty? To put it simply, conventional beauty is imposed on us from outside influences, natural beauty more about self-acceptance.

The Conventional approach teaches us we must strive to reach someone else’s idea of a “perfect” body.

The Natural approach teaches you to be happy with who you are and to celebrate your true self.

While much has been written about natural beauty and accepting your true self, following only one approach doesn’t always work for everyone, nor should it. I believe each of us should have the freedom and flexibility to choose between each approach, as well as how we use both of them in our lives every day. Remember it is your choice to pick whatever approach best fits you and your body.

WHAT IS BODY ACCEPTANCE?

Body Acceptance is exactly what it sounds like: it is learning to accept and embrace your body’s style (The Natural Approach). Your body’s style is how you emanate the way you walk and talk and communicate with yourself and others in a way that makes you feel so good.

On the other hand, cultural influences tell us that we need to change our bodies and alter our appearance to ‘fit into’ the visual images we see in magazines, billboards, movies and TV. This is what I call The Conventional Approach. If we allow this outside pressure to dominate how we feel about our body and interfere with how we present our self to the world and our self we will be miserable.

Many of my clients are thriving as they learn to practice Body Acceptance. And it’s because of this one easy tip I’ve shared with them.

HOW TO PRACTICE BODY ACCEPTANCE

I encourage you to look at visual images that show all body sizes and shapes (just go to the grocery store and you will see all body shapes and sizes). Pay attention to all the different heights, shapes and sizes. Note the different hair styles, hair color, types of skin, etc. Focus on what breaks the standard of beauty, not what conforms to it.

Practice this and become more empathic with yourself and others. The bottom line is to feel and be healthy at whatever weight you and your body feel comfortable with. If and when you chose to change your size and shape then you will independently take those steps and choices to make whatever changes you desire.

I encourage you to be aware of outside cultural influences that make you second-guess your choices.

It is about you and your body in partnership ( Body knowledge System ®) to make the best choices for how you eat and move and showcase your talents to the world.

As Lillian Bustle, a well know burlesque dancer, once said:

“The more body diversity is normalized in our minds, the kinder we can be with ourselves and with our bodies”​

BODY KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM WISDOM

Here’s a practical example of what it looks like to practice Body Acceptance and live with a posture of confidence.

Let’s consider Barbra Streisand when her career first got going in the early 60s, potential managers and agents worried that she wouldn’t fit the bill of a traditional female pop star.

Honestly, they were worried about her nose.

140 million albums sold later, nobody’s worried about the nose.

• Presence begins with a positive body image.
• Your body’s wisdom projects that image through expressing the respect you have for yourself.
• And thereby, you attract positive energy from those around you.

NEXT STEPS

So far over the course of this Natural Beauty series, we’ve looked at makeup, pro-aging, and now body acceptance.

I’ve shared this Natural Approach with you, because I think it will help you and me to find a lot of freedom in how we interact with our bodies. And again if the Conventional approach is good for you, go forth.

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