The 'Perfect' Lie

How do you feel about your body? Do you love it, care for it, check it out in the mirror and think “F#ck Yeah, I look gooood”?  

No? Why not? Stomach to big? To much cellulite? To pale? Hey, me too! The fact is, we are never going to look 'perfect'. Unless you have thousands of dollars to buy it, perfect does not exist. It is a false concept. A lie. A lie told to you to sell you more stuff. 

Think about that.

Oh, and even if you do have the money for plastic surgery, do you really want to pay some one to cut open your beautiful body so that you can conform to society's, or you own, ideas of physical perfection? How loving is that?

We only have one body, and that body is going to be with us through everything. It is what gets us through from the day of our birth, until the day that we die. How we treat it decides how we feel on a day to day basis, and displays how much we respect and value ourselves.

So I want you to try an exercise with me. I want you to repeat this to yourself-

'I'm too fat. I need to lose weight because my thighs are disgusting'.

Really let that thought soak in. How does it make you feel? Good? Rockin' the self-love? No?

The way we talk about ourselves, and the way we talk about our bodies, has an enormous impact on our self-confidence and self-respect. Maybe you don't quite know it yet, maybe you do but are still getting the hang of it, but I can promise you that you deserve so much better than that. So much better than to be put down because of your body shape, to be considered in any way less than an amazing person because you aren't 6ft tall, big breasted, small breasted, a size 8 or whatever.

Your body shape has Nothing to do with Your Self Worth. Not a thing.

It is a very strange world, when we consider that a woman's body is used as a tool to judge that entire person, no? Completely disregarding the incredible brain power that woman has, her compassionate nature, her quirky creativity...you get the point. You are SO much more than that, and to suggest anything less is down-right disrespectful.

So now lets try one more exercise. Repeat after me-

'I have a beautiful body. It is amazing, strong, and I love it'.

Now how does that one feel? Hopefully your answer is 'Much better'! Your body is an amazing thing. It can move and bend, be powerful or nurturing, give you health and vitality, mental clarity, help you feel good in the sun or in the bath, it can give you orgasms and will take care of you from day 1 until day 99, or however old you live to.

So for this week, I want you to listen to the way you speak about your body and pay attention to the feelings that arise when you regard your body. Are they serving you well? Are they honoring you as the beautiful woman you are? Spend some time with your body this week. Just the two of you. Get to know it. Tune into it and ask it how it feels. I do mean this literally. Just focusing on it and asking it can help you become aware of what it needs. Maybe it will reply it needs more water, more sleep, more laughter, more attention. Really, this works.

Take some time out in the bath, the shower, the spa. Take a yoga class and use your body. Skip, run, dance, walk, eat fruit salad, ask your body what it wants for dinner, lift weights, swim, do something that gets your body and your mind grooving together! Accept your body. Love your body.

When you accept your body and take care of it as an act of self-caring, instead of an act of self-loathing (Eating well because you feel to fat, as opposed to eating well because you deserve to feel and look your best) you are treating yourself with utmost respect and love. What could be better?

So that is your assignment for the week. If it feels weird or unnatural, think back to the 'Fake it till you Make it' concept, and eventually it will feel more comfortable. Be a model of self-caring and love for all the other women and girls in your life.

Rebel. Love yourself. All of yourself. What could be more beautiful than that?

Yours in Self-Love,

JessieAnne XO