We all know the pressure to look and feel perfect can be overwhelming. With a world full of impossible beauty standards, both self-confidence and self-care are more important now than ever. But how can we best nurture ourselves and still maintain a positive body image? To accept and love yourself in its entirety, beyond the rigid beauty standards of society, is the key to true self-care. In this article, we explore how to go beyond beauty standards and implement body positive self-care routines.
1. Embracing Your Natural Beauty
Self-confidence can be a challenge. Whether we’re trying to find the words to express ourselves or channel our inner strength, it isn’t always easy to think and feel at our core that we’re beautiful and good enough. But the truth is, we are.
We have to remember and acknowledge the importance of embracing our own unique beauty. Here are a few simple steps to help you do just that:
- Take Care Of Yourself – Love yourself enough to take care of you. Wash your face, drink plenty of water, and stay active. Take the time to show yourself some TLC.
- Embrace Your Natural Features – Find ways to draw attention to your natural features. Whether it’s bringing out the beauty of your eyes with a new shade of eye shadow or accentuating your curves with a fitted dress, you can feel confident in expressing your true self.
- Be Positive – Think and speak positively about yourself. Leave the negative self-talk and comparisons behind. Whether it’s in your mind or out loud, your words can be incredibly powerful.
- Find Inspiration – Look up inspirational quotes or stories to help remind and motivate you to see the beauty in yourself and in others.
Self-confidence can be daunting, but you have to remember that you are worthy of embracing your beauty just the way it is. Learning to express self-love can be difficult, but it is possible. Take a breath, give yourself a pep-talk, and remember that you are strong enough to be your own cheerleader.
We are all beautiful in our own unique way. Don’t let what anyone else says or thinks keep you from celebrating and .
2. Achieving Inner Harmony Through Self-Care
As humans, we are constantly striving to look after ourselves and strive for inner harmony. Taking time out to practice self-care is an essential part of this journey. By putting aside time for ourselves to connect with our innermost feelings, we can learn to look after our emotional and mental needs, as well as our physical health.
Self-care can sometimes seem simplistic, however there are many ways to nurture and look after our wellbeing. Here are some tips to get you started on your journey to inner harmony:
- Practice mindfulness: Taking time to sit and observe your thoughts is a powerful way to connect with your innermost feelings, and helps to reduce stress. Set aside time to practice mindfulness each day.
- Create balance: Balance is key to creating a sense of wellbeing. By creating balance between the activities in your life – such as work, family and leisure – you will create a sense of harmony within yourself.
- Spend time in nature: Taking time to connect with nature is a powerful way to restore balance and a sense of calm. Go for a walk outdoors and take time to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.
- Eat healthily: Eating a balanced and nutritious diet is essential for maintaining physical health, as well as mental wellbeing. Swap processed foods for fresh and natural ingredients and watch your energy levels soar.
By taking the time to practice self-care, we can create harmony within ourselves and with the world around us. Connecting with ourselves and nurturing our wellbeing is a journey that we can undertake together.
By setting aside time for self-care and taking small, consistent steps, we can learn to take care of our emotional and mental needs, as well as our physical health. Taking the time to practice self-care can help us find inner harmony and peace.
3. Reclaiming Body Positivity
Are you tired of being judged based on your body shape and size? You’re not alone. It’s time to reclaim body positivity and show the world that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
The concept of body positivity came about to help challenge the rigid standards of beauty that society has set for us. Across the world, our social media feeds are flooded with pictures of ‘perfect’ bodies. We’re surrounded by these unrealistic beauty standards, and it’s easy to feel inferior or ashamed of our own bodies. It’s time to break the cycle and celebrate body positivity.
Here are some ways to start reclaiming your body positivity:
- Focus on your strengths and accept your body for what it is.
- Don’t compare yourself with others.
- Ensure your Instagram, Snapchat and other feeds are filled with positive and real images of body types.
- Reject any negative comments or body shaming, no matter how subtly they are delivered.
An important part of is about feeling comfortable in your own skin. This could involve wearing clothes that you like or trying out activities that can make you feel good. So, try out yoga, go for a run or learn to dance.
Remember, the most important thing is for you to love and accept your body exactly as it is. You can start by practicing self-love and appreciating your unique body type.
4. Evolving Beyond Established Beauty Standards
It is heartening that our beauty standards are gradually evolving. Even media outlets are increasingly embracing people who don’t fit into traditional standards of beauty. Such inclusivity encourages us to accept people for who they are, and ultimately, expands our definitions of beauty. Here are a few aspects of this evolution.
- Celebrities: Popular celebrities diverging from traditional beauty standards are encouraging us to accept a wider range of definitions.
- Categories: Beyond traditional concepts of beauty, many people are breaking gender stereotypes and adapting the idea of androgyny.
- Media: Television, films, magazines, and other media platforms are now embracing all varieties of beauty and having people of different descents, sizes, and styles.
Inclusivity: People are becoming increasingly comfortable with coming out. Racial diversity, body positivity, and a variety of sexuality are gaining more acceptance.
The push for greater inclusiveness and acceptance of all definitions of beauty will continue to move forward as people gain more courage to recognize their own beauty. We are also raising awareness about embracing inner beauty and cultivating self-love. The thought of rejecting certain physical features because they don’t fit certain beauty standards is no longer in fashion. Instead, it’s all about celebrating diversity regardless of how we appear.
It’s also becoming normal for people not to feel the need to look or dress in a certain way to impress. Uniqueness is now being embraced and people are more open to taking risks with their style. We don’t have to stick to a certain way of looking at beauty, so we should celebrate our uniqueness and step outside our comfort zones.
Time and time again, we have seen people striving to defy the standards of beauty dictated by society. While challenging conventions set by the majority can be difficult, it is not impossible. Choosing to take a body-positive approach to self-care can have many long-term rewards. Whatever your definition of beauty might be, it’s important to remember that you are never too old to start appreciating the beauty that lies beyond the surface. Let’s create a world where we are all free to love ourselves exactly as we are.
