Every girl has stood in front of the mirror and seen a stranger look back at her. I look at older photographs of myself and realize how “thin” or greatly shaped I was 2 years ago. Yet if you quizzed the 28 year old me, I would have said I was fat and wanted to fit into two sizes lesser jeans. If you think about it in our mind we were always ‘fat’ no matter what shape or size we came in. Starting from 12-30, this is the label I carried on me and it is a heavy one to bear.

The real reason why people generally hate their bodies goes way beyond the scope of a television commercial selling beauty products that endorse a woman’s insecurities in the first place. The truth is we were educated to look at our bodies this way at a very young age and with such logical reasoning that no level of reassurance is ever enough. The wound is not on the outside but rather deep in. We have been carrying our bodies around with mismatched souls trapped inside and dream of bikini models in our eyes. This is neither balanced nor healthy in any which way. 

The commercial ad shoot that you gawk at is highly photoshopped. What you stare at in admiration is a pixilated robotic version of the real living moving human who posed for the shot. The real human being has pores on her skin, wrinkles and hips. While talking about inner healing is all charismatic will you and I ever be healed completely on the inside ? I am only being practical and putting forward an absolute cheat sheat for your body positive journey beginning from outside –in.

Step 1

Understand your body shape (yes, not size/weight in pounds). Women really do come in 4 broad shapes-

Pear- your waist is more endowed than your chest. Those fuller hips are made for goddesses and girl have you got booty! 

Hourglass- you girl are equally gifted with boobs and booty and have a great waist to flaunt. Be proud of this symmetry

Athletic- you are what women sweat in the gym for hours. You are equal in all your assets and you know what you are the luckiest of us all

Apple-  You are that girl blessed with great breasts and small hips! You are a dream other girls yearn for. 

Step 2

Dress right! An hourglass is a great body type but if you cloth it in an A line full dress instead of a body con you are going to look like a nun from the medieval movies and think you look no good at all. The sense is in the styling. Every body shape has its own esthetics that when played right would make every woman look how she wants herself to (thanks to years of conditioning unfortunately).

Step 3

Once you are dressed in the above rule. Stand in front of your mirror and look. Yes first you will see the so called flaws that your brain was programmed to. Speak out loud and name each body part and tell yourself it looks beautiful. There is no shame in having beautiful big breasts or beautiful flat chests. You are beautiful as you are. After a few weeks once you can look yourself in the mirror with only positivity I would suggest- strip and do the same exercise.  Your body is you. You are beautiful. 

Step 4

Go conquer the world !