• 

  Get together...

• 

  Join our forums...

• 

  Fire your imagination...

• 

  Tell your friends...

• 

  Indulge yourself...

Take time out and find some inspiration

Feature by: Kim Ingleby BSc (Hons) Personal Trainer of the Year. Master NLP Hypnotherapist – Director Energised Performance.com

Black Swan is a dark, provocative, complex and compelling. It is a film that explores the life of a successful ballerina – Nina (Natalie Portman), with the pressures of audition and gaining a lead role in production of Black Swan. It has the nerve to take the viewer to uncomfortable places, often left unspoken in reality – touching on eating disorders and self harming. Highlighting the modern pressures and media influence within society, combined with the ideal to be ‘perfect’.

The media are continually influencing and supporting this with weekly tabloids highlighting who is fitter, leaner, bigger or smaller. This influence could affect the perceived expectations and internal dialogue on what is ‘ideal’ and therefore acceptable, depending on the state of internal contentment and motivation you have.

Tracey Anderson, Celebrity Trainer is well known for defining and shaping Gwyneth Paltrow’s body, whilst increasing her internal self belief. This is a great example of what is possible with good quality training and support, yet could lead to additional media pressure amongst individuals who feel compelled to respond and achieve the ‘perfect state’.

To develop strong self esteem and body confidence It may be useful to have a discussion with your friends about their perception of Body Image in general, their own and yours. And in order to do this, trust and respect is required to have an open and helpful conversation. Knowing that one person’s perception of ‘ideal’ may totally different to another which can help you to build strong, healthy body images and a unique identity that makes you feel good.

Plan a night together, pens and paper, good food, relax and consider these questions…

• What does good body image mean to you, who represents this and why?
• Do you and your friends have a balance of good training and nutrition or do you constantly diet, worry about your body image or/and compare yourself to others?
• Do you feel you have good body image (out of 10), and how to you manage how you feel?
• What strategies, skills and tips to you use to help you feel good about yourself?

Once you have done this – try these top tips to increase your body confidence:

• List your top 10 qualities that make you, YOU – happy, kind, relaxed, funny etc – understanding who you are is essential to building self esteem
• List the top three things you could do something about, that would make you feel more content in yourself – make them really clear, specific and achievable – then share with 2 people and make it happen.
• Focus on what you want and have the courage to commit to making it happen. Let go off what you don’t want – the saying ‘ You get what you focus on’ is very true.
• Quieten your inner voice that is limiting and just say ‘I am okay’ or ‘I am good enough’ – meditation, listening to music and writing things down can all be very helpful to moving limiting states. It is about being in awareness and noticing when you are not happy, then accepting the state rather than fighting it and moving to a more neutral place which will eventually be happier.
• Create a happy board with pictures, words, sayings, places, songs etc – everything that represents a strong, happy body image – keep re visiting this to remind your brain of what you are working towards. Keeping a happy diary – writing down three things each day that made you feel good can help too.
• Changing limiting body image thoughts and behaviour takes time and consistency as you have to create a new habit. Choose to reduce the time spent in environments or reading magazines that reduce your self esteem Instead – Have courage to stick to your plan and believe you might be able to realise you are beautiful just as you are.

Just like the dance industry the pressure you choose to place upon yourself, is up to you. It is your perception & choice of what you want to achieve and how you want to feel. It is important to realise the value of having a balance of good nutrition, exercise and rest and with that, choosing the right environment for you. Some people find the gym motivating and rewarding, others find it intimidating and stressful – some people find outside exhilarating and energising, others find they feel vulnerable and open. So, choose the people and places, magazine and language wisely – ones that support you, encourage you to feel good, believe in yourself and realise your full potential.

One of my wonderful clients summarises working with strengthening her Body Image:

I have gone from feeling deeply inadequate with a gnawing sense of loneliness, and if I am honest despair, to a sense of quiet contentment, freedom and genuine happiness, something I never thought possible. I only dreamt of what it would be like to feel comfortable in my own skin, now I know and its the best feeling in the world. To look in the mirror and like what I see, to have the confidence to wear colour and know the art of not worrying about what others think of you. These are only some of the things I have learnt through working with Kim, there is not enough space to list them all. A.M K 2011

Through this feature, like the film Black Swan I hope this provokes a conversation about how to develop contentment and strong healthy body image within yourself. It may be challenging and take a little time, but is this more challenging than staying where you are? I challenge you to feel good about yourself inside and out, be kind to yourself and give yourself the time to make changes happen. Let me know how you get on…

For further reading try: Rebel Diet by Emma James – interesting discussion about body image combined with nutrition advice through NLP techniques The Big Book of Me – Nina Grunfield – great for goal setting, reflecting, and making changes – easy to use and effective Paul McKenna Series of Books – Confidence

Comments…

You must be a member to comment, please register here…

• © 2012 Be Fabulous Online Ltd. All rights reserved.
• Advertisers
• Contact
• Terms of use
• Privacy Policy
• Accessibility
• AWARD CREATIVE
• Developed by Nine Four.