Reposted from the Spiritual Sunflower's wordpress blog, originally posted on October 19th, 2018
Becoming comfortable in my own skin has been a long and confusing journey, but I think I’ve finally reached where I want to be.
When I first think about being comfortable with myself, I think about my childhood. I think about where I came from and how that’s prepared me to grow into the woman I am and live the life I do today.
Everyone is different, just like everyone comes from different places, and that means being “comfortable” in your skin will be different for each person as well. To me, being comfortable in my skin means feeling confident and at peace in my decisions and how I present myself.
Growing up, I believed I could do anything I set my mind to, but fear of failure or simply not liking it or not fitting in held me back from trying so many new things. It took me some time to respect that my limits and interests may not be the same as my peers, but that doesn’t mean they’ll care for me or respect me any less.
I remember working closely with my swim coaches and teachers throughout high school to make my dreams of coming to school in Florida come true, and I think these mentoring relationships had the greatest impact on being confident in my plans and myself, regardless of what they are. These people guided me in building my character not just in the pool and classroom but also in life, and opened up doors for all three to intertwine.
Looking back, I begin to see these things start to intertwine the summer of sophomore year of high school when I purchased my first book about mindfulness. From here, my interest in similar areas deepened to envelope the world of meditation, then crystals, then yoga, and so on.
One thing that’s always been a top priority to me is feeling good, and when I began to add mindfulness, meditation and yoga into my life I realized that I felt better just all around, physically and mentally. After reading further into the benefits of these areas I’ve been able to further take advantage of them and deepen my
Through these practices of yoga and meditation, I developed a greater connection and appreciation for my body and what she does for me. When I practice, there isn’t anything more important in that moment than what my body is doing and how she is feeling. Some days my body prefers certain stretches, exercises and foods more than others and I try to listen to that.
This new appreciation and connection I cultivated by learning from those around me and individual practice has allowed me to achieve the security and comfort in my body that I was searching for... and I am excited to continue growing closer and more comfortable with myself day by day.
I am wishing the same to you! Know that you deserve to feel beautiful, confident, and safe in your skin.