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Learn to love your body, no matter what

By: Thursday, April 9, 2015 Holistic Health, Lifestyle, Wellness , , , , Permalink 0

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

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There’s this weird stage in pregnancy that no one ever talks about, where your body has changed enough to be noticeable, but not quite enough for it to be obvious that you’re carrying a child.  It was in this ambiguous state that I went for a beach vacation to Mexico last week… in a bikini, no less.

I’m not going to lie and say that I love everything about my changing and expanding body, or that I’m thrilled that my boobs have gone from a reasonable B-cup, to an insane and pornographic DD.  Obviously, I am in awe of the fact that there is a baby growing inside me, but connecting to my sense of body love has come with it’s challenges when I look in the mirror and see an unfamiliar form.

I see this with my clients all the time — they gain some weight, feel out of control, or have a bloat-inducing weekend of indulgence and suddenly they’re overcome with body hatred.  Their bodies become the enemy.  The irony is that body hatred is not a place from which to healthfully and successfully make any kind of changes.  Body hatred leads to crash dieting, deprivation, hours on the treadmill.  None of these tactics lead to any kind of lasting change, and they certainly don’t feel very good while you’re at it.

The fact is, our bodies are not static. They change, they swell and shrink, expand and contract. Some days we look and feel light and lithe and slim, other days we’re carrying a little something extra as our bodies voice their displeasure with how we treated them the night before.  Some days we are flexible and energized, other days we feel heavier, slower, and sluggish.  This is a natural ebb and flow.  It might last a night, a week, or even a whole season.  The key is not to jump to the response of body criticism.

When you approach your body with love, understanding, and compassion, you are able to actually recognize the pattens and behaviors that are causing the shift, and do something productive to restore balance.  Here’s how:

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How to get over the guilt of self-care

By: Thursday, July 17, 2014 Lifestyle, Wellness , , , , Permalink 0

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

Prioritize Happiness
Last Monday, I woke up feeling a little “meh.” I had tons on my plate between clients, my upcoming program launch, and preparing for my trip home to Minneapolis, but I was feeling some resistance toward jumping into my super productive morning routine.

These days, I know that when that happens, it’s rarely for no reason.  When I feel “meh,” unmotivated, or run down, I know it’s because I haven’t been taking well enough care of myself.  I know what I need in those moments… SPACE.

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Daily Acts of Self-Love = What’s Missing in Your Life

By: Monday, September 9, 2013 Exercise, Healthy Beauty, Healthy Eating, Healthy Home, Holistic Health, Lifestyle, Organic Beauty, Wellness , , , , Permalink 0

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

Daily Acts of Self-Love = What’s Missing in Your Life | The Organic Beauty Blog

Daily acts of self-love aren’t just fuzzy, feel-good luxuries.  They are what is standing in between you and the body, life, and love that you are so desperately seeking.  They are a necessity, and their lack leaves a huge gaping hole in your life that you then fill with ice cream, TV, wine, unfulfilling sex, and potato chips.

I know all your excuses, I’ve heard them all before.  “But Natasha, I can’t afford massages!” or “I don’t have time for picnics in the park!”  That may or may not be true, but each and every one of us has some time and some money to dedicate to the fundamental cause of our own happiness.  So I’m doing the work for you!  I’ve compiled a list of daily acts of self-love that fit any budget, any schedule.  Make it a priority to pick one every day.. start small, and before you know it, daily acts of self-love, mindfulness, and joy will be a habit as natural to you as brushing your teeth.

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How to Start Loving Your Body NOW!

By: Thursday, July 25, 2013 Healthy Beauty, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Lifestyle, Organic Beauty, Wellness , , , , Permalink 0

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

It is very difficult to make healthy choices for your body, take care of your body, and treat it well when you hate it.  Loving your body does not have to mean that you love everything about it, or that you do not want to change things about it.  But loving it, right now, just the way it is, is a crucial step toward getting healthy, happy, and losing weight!  When you love something, you want to take care of it, protect it, and make it feel good.  When you hate something, you abuse it, neglect it, and criticize it.   Which way sounds more conducive to healthy eating, lifestyle, relationships, and thoughts?  Here’s how to start loving your body right now:

1.     Determine where your body hatred comes from. 

We live in a society that deems openly loving your body taboo.  We have trouble accepting compliments; we feel the need to make self-deprecating comments; we bond with other women over hating our bodies instead of loving them.  Find the source of this habit for you.  Is it an attitude you inherited from your mother or a sibling?  Is it a product of your social scene?  Find the root, and vow to step outside it, be bigger than it.  Make a conscious CHOICE to start loving your body, right now.

2.     Loving your body does not mean giving in to what it looks like right now. 

The biggest reason most women give for why they don’t love their bodies is that they fear losing the motivation for change and weight loss if they accept and love themselves as they are.  But know this:  if you hate your body now, you aren’t going to magically be full of self-love when you finally reach your ideal weight.  In fact, you may even miss out on feeling amazing for reaching your goals because you are so mired with that self-criticism you’re so used to feeling.  Regardless of what shape they’re in now, our bodies allow us to live, walk this earth and experience all the pleasures in it.  That is a lot to love!  Having gratitude toward your body for all the amazing things it allows you to do and experience, and loving your body for that does not mean that you don’t want to be stronger, leaner, more flexible and sexier.  We can always be working on improving ourselves in some way, but when that comes from a place of LOVE, we will be so much more successful, and enjoy ourselves along the way!

3.     Prioritize feeling good. 

When you love something you want to make it feel good.  When you hate something, you deprive it of joy, affection, and pleasure.  Which way do you think leads to weight loss, happiness and fulfillment?  When you love your body, you can shower it with things that feel amazing.  Massages, yummy smelling natural beauty products, delicious and healthy food, dancing, sex, trips to the beach, beautiful clothes – all these things show love to yourself, make you feel SO much happier and taken care of, and yes, make weight loss a breeze!  But when you hate your body, you feed it junk food, cover it in frumpy clothing to hide it, keep it inside on the couch,  living a small life, and abuse it with alcohol, sugar, drugs, cigarettes, soda, and other horrible things.  I’ll tell you what, achieving a healthy weight and a happy, healthy body is impossible in that state of self-abuse.  Making your body feel amazing and taken care of should be your TOP priority in your health journey.  See what a huge difference it makes!

Loving your body is just a more fun, healthy, and pleasurable place from which to approach the work of transforming your diet and your life!

In the comments below, share how you are going to show your body more love, more care, more pleasurable experiences!

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15 Ways To Find Happiness, Health and Abundance

By: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 Exercise, Healthy Baby, Healthy Home, Holistic Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Organic Beauty, Wellness , , , , Permalink 0

By: Stephanie Heino

15 Ways To Find Happiness, Health and Abundance | The Organic Beauty Blog

Are you facing difficulty with knowing what to do in order to embrace and love yourself? It’s a hard one, we know. Many people feel like they don’t know where to start when feeling the need to love themselves first, prior to developing any meaningful relationships with others. We all spend so much time looking for the best romantic partner, so we should all be experts, right? What we soon realize is that our external search was meant to fill the void or emptiness we have inside, that often is created during childhood when there is a lack of love, or traumatic experiences. Finding a good relationship with ourselves can seem like an even harder task! But if not done properly, we will all finding ourselves failing miserably in relationships because of insufficient or little self-love. Do you recognize yourself in this? Self-esteem and self-love are issues that are often related, so if you suffer from low self-esteem, it is possible that the root cause is a case of insufficient self-love.

Sometimes, loving yourself feels unnatural because your mind has been trained to have sabotaging thoughts about yourself for the longest time. However, nothing is going to change if you do not make a conscious decision. When you don’t love yourself, you are basically telling the universe (and those around you) that you are unworthy or undeserving of love and positive outcomes in life. Learning to love yourself starts with making a very basic conscious decision: an intention to be happy and lead a fulfilled life. You can do it! When you make a decision to love yourself, you are really saying that you want to live your life to its fullest. You can accept that you are responsible for the all the outcomes in your life and can work towards letting yourself shine, living a fulfilling and loving life.

“Love yourself first and everything falls into line.”-Lucille Ball

So if you’ve decided on loving yourself but are confused on how to love yourself here are 15 ways which can be helpful:

1. Fall in love with yourself. Think about what makes you You, be happy and proud of it, and nurture yourself in every way. Love yourself for all the good things that you see, accept your flaws and the fact that you are imperfect and unique. This does not mean that you do not learn to change from your shortcomings, but instead, you are being gentle and kind to yourself despite all your “flaws”. Look in the mirror and fall in love with the reflection that is You.

“To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.” -Oscar Wilde

2. Eliminate Self Criticism. Do you often beat yourself up over the tiniest thing? Is there a little voice inside your head that often tells you that you are no good because you are stupid or make mistakes? If you find that you often judge yourself, make an effort to stop the self criticism by going inside! Going to see a therapist or counselor might be very effective too!

3. Be Kind And Positive. When you start to think kindly and positively about yourself, the love you have for yourself just grows and keeps reflecting on the outside world. Make it a habit to praise yourself everyday, while in the front of the mirror. You will naturally undertake more empowering actions that support your development.

4. Acknowledge Your Effort. It is not always about winning or coming in first in everything that you do. Many times, it is the effort that counts! Acknowledge that you have done your best, even if you have failed to produce tangible results.

5. Let Go Of Worry. Loving yourself requires you to let go of your worry. It is horrible to live a life filled with constant worrying. I can attest to that! Worry does not help in any way. It cannot, on its own, make things happen. Only wise actions can! So instead of worrying, spend time thinking about what you can do to help in the situation. If the situation is beyond your control, then make a clear mental request or set an intention about what you want. Next, surrender your outcome.

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” — Epictetus

6. Trust Yourself. Have confidence in your abilities. Know that you have the ability to make important changes for yourself, as long as you put your heart to it. You can also support yourself by clearly visualizing desired outcomes.

7. Forgive Yourself. If you have made mistakes in the past that caused you to feel less worthy, then you need to forgive yourself. All of us make mistakes; so there really is no need to beat yourself up over them. Also, if you have been carrying around some emotional baggage because of a childhood trauma or a specific occurrence in your life, learn to forgive yourself.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” — Lewis B. Smedes

8. Be Truthful To Yourself. Loving yourself requires you to be truthful about your own feelings. If you are happy, acknowledge the joy. If you are sad, acknowledge the sorrow. When you are truthful about your feelings, you do not try to lie to yourself or seek to bury your negative emotions. Instead, acknowledging what you feel provides a good guide to what your thoughts are. And as we all know, thoughts can be changed, so healing and growth can take place.

9. Make Positive Affirmations Everyday. Retrain your mind to think differently with positive affirmations. One good affirmation that I repeat every morning is “I love and accept myself completely and unconditionally.” Keep reading your affirmations out loud several times a day. It will help you, I promise!

10. Express Gratitude. Express gratitude for the person that you are. For instance, cultivate an appreciation for your strengths and gifts. Also, feel a sense of gratitude that you are alive and well, and fully capable of making a difference in your life.

11. Boost Your Self Confidence. Make a deliberate attempt to look for opportunities that can help improve your confidence. For instance, if you are particularly good at doing something, set aside more time to indulge and improve your skills on it. Knowing that you have particular gifts can boost your self-esteem.

12. Relax. Give yourself space to take breaks every now and then. If you spend all your time working, without paying attention to your health, you’re showing yourself that you do not love You enough to take care of your own body. Fill your time with silence, soothing music and visions of beauty to soothe your soul and you will become more peaceful, connected, kind, loving and compassionate as a result of this.

13. Enjoy Life. Life is meant to be an enjoyable, so have fun people! Don’t take life or yourself too seriously. If you can think of life in that way you will automatically relax and quit worrying over things that do not matter.

14. Take Care Of Your Body. It is important that you strengthen yourself with proper nutrition and regular exercise. Your body is a temple and you should treat it with respect, love and care. It has been found that lack of self-love is often the root causes of conditions like eating disorders, obesity or even some terminal diseases.

15. Learn To See Beauty Around You. When you learn to see beauty in everything, you will also see beauty in yourself. So take some time to stop and smell the flowers. Try to notice things you haven’t noticed before, and feel it. How about the amazing yellow color on that flower in your garden, or the whisper of the gentle wind, or the endless hues of an evening sky. Watch the sunset tonight and pay attention to the beauty of it!

Choose to be happy, and make it happen!