As soon as the year end holidays are over a lot of women start thinking of the 1 outfit in their closet they dread putting on. We think about this outfit almost immediately anytime there are talks of enjoying ourselves near a pool of water or fancy relaxing resort. We avoid talking about this outfit and look for pretty things to cover it up. We starve ourselves, work out for hours until we are a puddle of sweat and forego things we love all in the interest of putting on this 1 single outfit we own.
We feel frustrated, depleted and irritated when we go to put on this outfit. We feel even more critical of ourselves when we try on new ones in a dressing room. We feel our disappointment, judgement and snarky comments go off in our heads once it is on.
All of this because of the stretchy fabric that makes up a swimsuit. One piece, 2 piece, itsy bitsy or full coverage every woman knows the horrors of thought that comes to mind when it’s time to put one of these suits on.
It’s Just Lycra
Women wear many outfits every day. Fancy suits for the office, fun tops and pants for the soccer field and special black dresses for events. Most of the time we can find a way to be comfortable in our clothes even when are not feeling our best or think we don’t look as good as we could. We can make that work and go on about our activity but give us a swimsuit and most us never find the place of peace when wearing it. This 1 outfit is tied to a lot of stress and anxiety that can actually steal our enjoyment for the beach, resort or even backyard poolside activity that we were otherwise looking forward to doing.
Despite the fact there is usually not much to a swimsuit and most are very pretty, we are so used to speaking negatively about our bodies that when it comes to putting on this outfit we dread it and never feel beautiful in it. We have bought into the opinion of others for what should and should not be on certain body types. A certain sized woman “should not” wear a bikini. Full chested women “should not” wear bra type swim tops but opt for one with ruffles or more coverage. Older women should stick to black or floral patterns to appear slimmer. Who made these rules?
Once these “outfits” are on us we instantly become shadows of ourselves hoping no one notices what we notice about our body. We hope we chose wisely and followed the rules correctly that someone set about what body type goes in what type of swimsuit. We are programmed not to see anything good about our bodies and that messaging is greatly amplified when we slip into and pull up this piece of fabric to go outside.
Some women are so traumatized by the idea of wearing a swimsuit they forego doing it all together and miss out on enjoying time in a pool or the ocean. We actively choose to forego activities we enjoy all because of the outfit required to do it.
The Perfect Body
I have struggled with my weight for a few years now. I’m proud to say I’m on the path to losing weight but I don’t feel as good as I would like in a swimsuit. It’s frustrating to me if I’m going anywhere else but our backyard and need a swimsuit. Regardless of my size my sweet husband will tell me I’m still beautiful. He’s never wavered in telling me that. When I ask if something looks good on me he replies I make it look good. When I feel frustrated with my weight and ask him if he notices if I’ve lost any he says he never noticed when I put it on because all he can see is how pretty I am.
His sweet comments are appreciated and have helped me feel better about myself but here’s the deal – – the majority of society, our friends, the media and even strangers are not nearly this kind. Their negative remarks about women who are not the ideal size, shape or height are still the ones that bite and are what most of us think about when we look at ourselves. Those are big powerful comments and thoughts that are hard to counteract with ones of kindness, love, grace and positivism.
We’ve all heard it before but there really is not a perfect body. There are ones that are more firm, smaller, bigger, taller, shorter, curvy, not curvy and so on but who really gets to decide and determine which one of all them is perfect or better than another? Who gets the power to define beauty and is there only one definition of what beautiful looks like? If an airbrushed model or super sized 0 person seen on TV is the ideal and perfect body I would challenge that asking why?
What Size Does Your Mind Take?
Feeling comfortable in a swimsuit starts with our mind not our body. Defining beautiful starts with us and what is going on in our minds. That’s where we need to find a suit that is big enough and in the color, shape and ruffles to cover what we don’t like. Those negative comments are the cellulite and fat rolls that block who we really are and stops our true self from being comfortable in any outfit we put on. What we say about our own body or that we think someone is thinking or saying about us equate to a big size in our mind, regardless of the tag size in our swimsuit.
I am one who doesn’t like what my swimsuits look like on. I don’t feel comfortable but I do it anyway because I love being in the water. In our backyard I have grown more comfortable to go out in a swimsuit without a cover up and not worry about anything but enjoying myself. When we go to the beach I’m always painfully aware of my body in a swimsuit. I’ve caught myself feeling limited rather than feeling free and enjoying the day because I’m worried about my thighs rubbing together or what someone might say about my flabby arms. Remarkably what I realized one time is that those same thoughts occurred to me when I was a much smaller size.
If I felt the same when I was smaller as I do now in a swimsuit the problem isn’t the tag number on my suit. It’s a lack of accepting and loving who I am and feeling comfortable in my own skin. I’ve decided this year my mind doesn’t get to steal the joy I have for going to the beach. My mind doesn’t get to take away a perfectly beautiful day with warm waves and salty water that I enjoy feeling and experiencing. My mind doesn’t get to judge me like that anymore. I won’t say this will be easy but it’s worth conquering so that I can enjoy the time I get with sand between my toes.
Accepting Our Body
There are essential oils that can help us work through building our body confidence, overcoming the control our mind has on our size and shape and having grace with ourselves. Amazingly too when we feel better about ourselves, regardless of our size, unwanted weight has a weigh of fading away on it’s own. We become more in tune with our needs and what our body needs and can fill those needs with love rather than sugars.
Grapefruit – The Oil of Honoring The Body
Yes that is correct! Grapefruit essential oil is known for it’s supportive powers to help us not only detoxify our bodies but honor and love the body we have. When we abuse our bodies with restrictive diets, negative behaviors like over or under eating, exercising or judgement we hinder our body’s ability to heal which in turn can lead to other health issues.
Applying doTERRA Grapefruit to our stomach and including a drop in our water helps us find that peace within our minds to accept and love who we are regardless of shape or size.
Digestive Blend – The Oil of Digestion
The doTERRA DigestZen oil blend is filled with Anise, Peppermint, Caraway, Ginger, Coriander and more that help us support our digestive system. When we find we don’t feel good about our body that can lead to an emotional overload form of indigestion and inability to break things down to manageable pieces. Our life loses it’s color and desire for things that are good for us and we opt for more emotional comfort through carbs and sugars.
The doTERRA DigestZen oil comes in an oil, tablet and capsule form to support us easily. Applying the oil to our stomachs and taking a tablet when we feel indigestion can help start that healing process.
Metabolic Blend – The Oil of Inner Beauty
Often our weight is the result of more emotional needs and openings than physical overeating and under exercising. This inner weight can block our ability to see progress when trying to lose weight and forget that we still are beautiful even through the process.
The doTERRA metabolic blend called Slim & Sassy is filled with Grapefruit, Peppermint, and other oils that support a healthy metabolic process that supports our health journey and mind transformation. Using this oil in water and applying it to our body where we feel the most judgement helps rebuild our body image inside out.
Interested in more?
Don’t let your mind steal your summer joy. You may not have a super model figure but you do have a beautiful soul that is craving some summer fun. We all deserve to enjoy our summer with all that it has to offer including sandy beaches, warm waters and fresh air. Put on that swimsuit, leave the cover up behind and go enjoy it all!
If you have questions about the oils in this post please reach out! I’m happy to help you find the oils and products that are most helpful to you.
amyk@dragonspitapothecary.com
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