Welcome back to the Embody Your Style series!
Last week I introduced the series by writing about embodied style for style confidence, and seeing your body in the shape it is today because many women inaccurately acknowledge how they look.
Once you see the body you have — you may be like yeah I see it! And I know that my thighs are huge! Or maybe it’s a thicker mid section that you see…either way it’s time for the next step.
To simply acknowledge the truth isn’t enough. You must embody your style for for self acceptance. Even better, you must own how you look to feel comfortable in your skin all the time!
Something I want to point out, while many have issues with the more obvious figure disrupters like the butt or thighs, there’s a lot of other types of body issues out there. For example, I have issue with my hands. And the thing is with these issues, whether it’s your hands or your hips, it’s really the head that’s causing all the problems.
Our culture spoon feeds us unrealistic images everywhere…it’s an airbrushed / filtered world! This makes it more difficult to accept our imperfect bodies. Our heads which can be nasty creatures, create shame based on comparison and feelings of inadequacy. This shame spirals into toxic self talk that becomes part of who we are.
Obviously body shame that’s set in ages ago is etched in pretty deep. It could take awhile to fully dismantle its impact and achieve self acceptance. But by being aware of its presence, and recognizing your toxic self talk you can label this negativity for what it is rather than get caught up in the emotions of it. This way you can move on with your life and feel better about how you look.
By practicing self acceptance and loving your body, you’ll feel more confident in your skin and this will carry over into the rest of your life. So take a minute to touch your soft tummy, jiggly thighs or crinkly skin, and say I FEEL YOU. Then let those words sink in.
Do this every time you start to feel frazzled by your body – whether it’s not fitting into something how you want, or you just don’t like what you see. But remember, in most situations, your body isn’t the issue…it’s your head.
In the video, I share a story about my body shame and the ongoing place it had in my life along with the practice I’m doing to move towards self acceptance.
Next week I’m going to talk about embodying your style by dressing it in a way that fits and flatters who you are today.
Go see this post on body shaming to learn how to keep your body from ruining your style.
What’s one part of your body that you’re working to accept?