Mindful Monday Makeover: Define Your Own Beauty

Posted on February 25, 2013 by kenetia

There are so many different powers telling us what we should look like, how we should wear our makeup, and what clothes to wear. From advertisements, celebrities or even our mothers, an ideal sense of what true beauty is constantly being projected on us. These views tend to overpower our own, more important ideas of what makes ourselves feel beautiful. As overpowering as they may be, we can’t blame them for the way we feel about ourselves. Instead, we must learn how to embrace our own, unique beauty and put those other messages on mute. Our body image is thought to be a mixture of our personality, outside social influences, inner personal experiences, and cultural ideals. The perception of our own body image is drastically different than how others perceive us.

Here are a few ways to define your beauty, and mute everyone else’s:

1. Your first instinct is usually right, so stick with it when trying on clothes before you leave the house. Wear that flashy shirt you fell in love with a few months ago but just haven’t had the courage to wear.

2. Read fashion magazines, but don’t take them too seriously. They’re nice for a few tips, but don’t idolize their messages and images. The women on the pages look just like you, before all of the airbrushing and touch-ups. No one struts the streets looking like they just walked out of a billboard, yet it’s engrained in our society that women are supposed to look like that.

3. Go natural. Go a day with less makeup than you typically wear, it’s good for your skin, and refreshing to look in the mirror and see yourself in a natural, healthy way.

4. Look in the mirror. No really, just look. Our mothers always told us to stop staring in the mirror, but really just stare at yourself and see every little imperfection that makes you, you.

5. Smile more. Happiness radiates confidence within ourselves and around us.

For more wonderful tips on feeling good about the woman you see in the mirror everyday, sign-up for our newsletter click here, now.

Monday Makeover: What obstacles will you overcome with a yoga practice?

Posted on December 4, 2012 by kenetia

I came across this video on a dear friends facebook page and was moved to tears towards the end. Through this mans practice of yoga he grew his body strength, mobility in joints and muscles that doctors told him he would never be able to use again and as a side lost a lot of weight. More importantly his confidence and determination grew in ways that are truly inspiring.

Yoga helps grow your determination and confidence by teaching you to work with the body as it is in the present moment. As you move into each posture with the intention of doing your personal best over time you will notice the incredible influence your mind has as it works with your body. Yoga will show you that anything you want to accomplish with your body or life is possible through practice.

If you want to start to build your determination and confidence using yoga I suggest learning the Sun Salutation. It is an easy series of poses that will warm, stretch and strengthen your body and move into learning more advanced yoga postures. In my book Fearless Beauty I give you the Sun Salutation postures, click through here to buy your copy.

How to Quiet Your Inner Critic

Posted on June 14, 2012 by kenetia

Before I learned to meditate, my mind would always be racing, thinking, wondering, figuring out ways to get over some sort of anxiety I had. My feelings and thoughts about myself would range from am I good enough, pretty enough, do I know enough, will I look like a fool or am I capable of achieving my dreams — like writing a book or becoming a public speaker. All things I know many women worry about given the hundreds conversations I have had with women sitting in my makeup chair over the years. These self-defeating conversations are rampant in women’s minds regardless of her physical beauty, talents or intelligence.

My first introduction to meditation was about six years ago on a retreat I attended in Carlsbad, CA. I sought out this retreat after a series of unfortunate events being hospitalized, losing my only source of income and my recent separation from my husband of seven years. Between all of this and my constant self battery I lost all confidence in myself. The retreat was temporary, but the gift of learning to meditate continues to build my self-esteem.

In my first lesson of meditation, I felt quite silly, sitting in a circle with a group of people, doing absolutely nothing; my mind raced about 1,000 miles a minute. Every few minutes, I would open my eyes, peek at the other people and wonder if they were looking at me, too! After a few days of meditation, my mind chatter slowed down and I started to enjoy myself. By the time I left the retreat, I was determined to make meditation part of my daily life. Something that I strongly recommend any one do that wants to feel more confident in their own skin.

The effects of meditation on your body, mind and spirit are expansive, so much so that there are whole sections in bookstores dedicated to this subject. Of all the information that I’ve read and studied, my own experience with the practice has been my greatest teacher. I’ve learned to accept my imperfect perfections, forgive myself and others and, best of all, love the little girl within me and the woman whom she continues to become.

Meditation won’t make your nose smaller or your lips more pouty—at least I don’t think it will!—but it has a real impact on the way you feel about yourself. Regular meditation leads to calmness, inner peace and lower stress levels. If you are curious about meditation and want to explore it for yourself download my FREE 30-Minute guided meditation and I’ll continue to send you tips on cultivating a beauty ritual that helps not only look good, but feel good too.

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