Body image; no matter how rich, how smart, how educated, how funny we are in this day and age is something that a lot of people around us struggles with, and it doesn’t matter the gender.

The #bodypositivity movement has great intentions mixed with self-confidence-boosting, body-positivity rhetoric’s, self-love mantras and gym selfies lies the often-unforgotten truth: Unconditionally loving your body is difficult, no matter the circumstances.

The movement is great—normalising cellulite (as everyone have it), allowing room for more than one body type, and providing a safe safe space for individuals to open up about their body image issues, discussing food and exercise in a way that is rooted in self-love.

However, this movement can become very exclusionary for individuals who do in fact have deep insecurities and mental health issues. It’s yet another impossible standard to measure yourself against, there will be days where we feel less inspired than others, and its okay. Body Positivity is about acceptance and giving yourself the permission for an off-day.

I have worked through a decade of body issues and finally landed in a positive space (along with my off-days of course). I feel good about myself and my parts in a way I never thought I ever would. But insecurity and anxiety still live and breathe inside my body. I’d be lying if I argued they didn’t. And that has to be okay. I’m allowed to want to get leaner, lose water weight, get more muscular, or eat healthier as a way to feel good and look good. I’m allowed to feel down about my body when I have ate too much jalapeño cheese puffs. The fact that self-acceptance doesn’t come easily for me doesn’t make me any less committed to maintaining positive body image. Life to me is all about connection and what a great opportunity I have to connect with all the people I meet and empowered by my ever evolving industry. I want people to see there are days where I feel insecure, sad, alone, lost and unmotivated and we can connect on something that is so much more important than just posting the perfect photo.

I’m good at relinquishing control most days, allowing myself to live free from judgement and comparison. Though, that comes from years of recognising and coping with my deep-rooted issues with weight. Not everyone has had that opportunity. So I suppose what I’m saying is you’re allowed to land somewhere in between. You can be a champion for body positivity even if you sometimes wish you had a bigger booty. The two are not mutually exclusive. You’re human, and either extreme will never make you happy.

3 hard ways to practice self-love:

Don’t be so cruel to yourself. Every time you have something negative to say about yourself. Go to mirror and say it out loud. Once you hear it and see the words coming out of your mouth. You will only realise how rude that sounds and you would never say such thing to a sibling or a friend.

Know that perfection doesn’t exist. There’s no one like you in the world. I still struggle with body image issues every day, but I’ve chose to sit with it, hear what it has to say and breathe through it. My body isn’t going to change by me whining all day about it. I ask myself, What is the next step for me to take charge of it?

Meditation. I know its hard to be still, sit and just let breathe. But even if you sat there for just 10 inhalation and 10 exhalation, it is more than enough to reset your mind, body and spirit. I challenge you to do it today. And if you need help, i will be here to help you. 🙂