How to be happy with your gorgeous body

Be happy….

Is that too much to ask?  Yet sometimes it does… it does feel too much to ask

In a recent Gallup poll, sadly, women were less likely than men to be satisfied with their looks at every age — that is until their mid-80s. 

Can you wait that long?

Personally, I don’t think to be happy with your body can wait. The way you feel about yourself, inside and out, has an effect on the way you behave and act around others, including and especially your very special loved ones.

Be the real you now, live your life, not at some date in the future… “when I have lost 1 stone I will….”

Over the last few blogs, my themes have been how to shift your mindset, how to talk to your inner mentor and how to use simple daily habits to transform your life.  These themes link: practise ‘happy’ thoughts and start with small steps.

Being happy is the fundamental way to change your life.

We are all gorgeous girls, appreciate that start with self-love, self-acceptance and compassion.

If you don’t love your body you will become ill.

Love the way your body moves, listen to your intuition, learn to nourish and love your body. Trust your body 🙂

After decades of working with women and unlocking their key to their personal happiness with their bodies, I want to help and support you to love your gorgeous body.  To appreciate what your amazing, gorgeous body does for you every day and to stop feeling ashamed. Start to be the real you.

Little happy steps will change your life

My mentor – Einstein! (thinking big) says that the power of your mind is amazing.

He wasn’t just a physicists and a genius he was a deep observer of humankind.  One of my favourite Einstein quotes, that I live by… ‘if you can’t explain it simply you don’t know it well enough”  There is no point understanding nutritional science if you can’t discuss it on an everyday level and explain it in an easily digestible way -like the pun?  😉 okay bit cheesy.

Don’t miss: Who believes before and after photos

Einstein also pointed out that the power of your mind is extraordinary. Every negative message, you say in your head or even more powerfully out loud will have a detrimental effect on your self-esteem and happiness. Remember Diedre from previous blogs – your inner critic? For every negative message you give yourself it takes 11 positive messages to negate the one bad message.  Take the time to improve the way you describe yourself, your gorgeous body and the way you speak to yourself.

The ‘science’ behind happiness

Hold onto your seats, here I go.. this is the L’oreal part of the blog where you picture me as Jennifer Anniston swooshing my hair, flicking it back and say seductively to the camera

‘Here is the science bit…’

There is a science behind your happiness or potential happiness. It derives from your brain and its patterns.

Your brain cells have arms called dendrites.   These arms are controlled by your thoughts when you are happy these arms grow and make connections with other brain cells. The brain cells connect in a little group together and this connection becomes a pattern.  The groupings become larger, you get happier

This process becomes a learnt process, a habit.   Your brain cells carry that memory, which in turn gets stronger.

My Pilates clients have known this for years.  Your body remembers how to perform an exercise, the more you perform an exercise, visual it, the easier it becomes. Your body will over time become accustomed to contracting specific muscles. Which in Pilates takes a while because you are working deeper muscles rather than the every day working muscles of the legs for instance.

Initially, it takes time to set these memories but after practice, your muscles work automatically. That is why I have a wee giggle to myself when a new 20-year-old chap arrives in class and is puffing and panting to perform the moves and is staggered when the 60-year-old granny next to him, can hold a plank or do a toe tap with seemingly no effort.  She has practised, granny can hold a plank because her muscles are accustomed to it.

I love it. Granny rules!

I digress….

The point is, not only do your muscles carry memories so do your cells on every level, including the patterns you make in your brain.

When you are happy you release the happy hormone SEROTONIN, serotonin makes connections, it helps the brain cells to conduct messages across the synaptic gap.  So when you are happy, remember the feeling, take note on every level.

• Smell your surroundings,
• Reach for something you can touch,
• Use your visual senses to help you carry the memory and stimulate your brain cells.

Make the most of the moment. this opens the way for more happy moments because your brain recognises the pattern.

You are creating a memory your brain cells are jumping around and making more connections.  Your pattern for happiness is set.

When you are stressed your gorgeous body releases ‘cortisone’. Cortisone is the stress hormone.  This hormone blocks the movement across brain cells, the little arms, the dendrites wither and move back into the cell body. Your brain closes down and you feel sad and depressed and you become stuck.  This is where you become a fixed mindset.

You think thoughts like:

• ‘nothing will work’
• ‘I never finish what I start’
• ‘I hate my body’
• ‘My bum looks huge’
• Blah blah blah.

It becomes a pattern.

SO BREAK FREE lovely gorgeous girls….

How you can be happy – some practical tools

I am very interested in practical tools. I am a fitness instructor I like TO DO things.  So here are your ‘to do’s’

Let me know which one rocks for you:

1. List 3 things every day that are NOT BAD! 

1. My legs are not bad
2. I have a great friendship with…..
3. My kids are happy.

Every day, 3 things, write them down. Recognise your attributes and by saying that they are not bad you are encouraging your brain to retrain, jolting it into thinking differently.

2. Practice Afformations

You have heard, I am sure, about positive affirmations?

However, you may not be acquainted with positive afformations?  The Book of Afformations by Noah St. John explains afformations as opposed to affirmations.

Don’t miss: Fitter and happier at 50 then 20!

Afformations puts a spin on the idea of seeing things as if they’ve already happened.  Afformations turn positive statements into “why” questions, the subconscious mind doesn’t have a chance to block the thought.  Instead, your amazing brain looks for answers to the “why” questions.

For instance, an affirmation is a statement of something you would like to be true in your life: “I am healthy and sexy, I love my body.”

The problem is, for many women, when you say things like “I am healthy and sexy and I love my booty” – their brain responds, “Yeah, right!”  That means you don’t believe these positive statements you’re telling yourself.  However, an Afformation is an empowering question that assumes that what you want is already true or has already happened.

So the question would turn into:

• “Why am I so healthy?”
• “Why do I feel so sexy?”
• “Why do I love my body so much?”

3. Exercise

You knew that was coming.  Exercise is good for your brain.  The recent London Marathon coverage of mental health issues proves the point. If you don’t believe me, listen to Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!  powerful endorsement.

So whatever your exercise fix is … do it some more.

Which one rocks for you?

Trust the gorgeous process.

Find out more about what makes you tick and understand your own personal growth.

If you like the idea of working together  in SEPTEMBER you can find out more without having to commit here:
FIND OUT MORE!

Speak soon much love

AdelesolikejenniferannistonStickland