"I stand in awe of my body."

- Henry David Thoreau

© Lord Coltrane Lowell Hotel, NYC

Bringing Booty Back

Battling body image is an oppressive process. We often negatively obsess about one part of our body, instead of looking at ourselves in a positive way, inclusive of mind-body-spirit.  We then start to experience low self-esteem, which limits our happiness.

In honor of loving every inch of our feminine being, we need to love our whole body.  So let's start with bringing booty (and self-esteem) back. 

Joseph McClendon III, a UCLA professor and guru of Mastering the Law of Attraction, claims that self-esteem is "just a feeling about a particular occurrence that happened in the past, attaching it to now, and projecting it into the future." 

In order for us to finally experience self-love, this means we must ignore the definitions other people place on negative or positive body images.  We must believe that our bodies are beautiful and perfect exactly as they are right now.

During his live sessions, Joseph often tells students to stop and glance at their reflections in a mirror whenever possible, with a wink and grin (Austen Power's style), while saying "You are amazing!"

Let's take this technique a little further, and give ourselves permission to obsess about one part of our body in a positive way for a change.

The theme song for this project is  "All About that Bass" by Meghan Trainor

How to Love Your Booty:

LOOK IN THE MIRROR: Every chance you get (naked or not) take a peek over your shoulder and get a good look at your beautiful ass.

We need to look in the mirror at our own bodies more often, and learn to love each and every part of its perfect imperfection.  We need to learn to See Beauty in All Things.

SPANK IT: Turn around, check out your ass, and give her a little flirtatious spank. 

During S-Factor dance classes, women are welcome to give themselves a little sweet spanking whenever their muscles burn and need more encouragement.  In other communities, people really do enjoy a safe, non-threatening spank now and then.

SHAKE IT: Notice how gorgeous your curves are, and give your ass a little shake and luscious hip circle. 

The popular Buti Yoga classes have you shaking and spiraling your ass while incorporating traditional yoga flow, tribal dance, and plyometrics.  I love the Marathi meaning to buti: the cure to something hidden or kept secret.  So shake it ladies, it's the new "tree pose."

CARESS IT: Admire your bum and caress her with positive affirmations and touch.  Pick out a few things that you love about your bum; smooth skin, muscle tone, skin tone, shape, anything.  Then give your bottom a physical caress or self-love massage.

Not only does it feel good, there are many benefits to a butt massage.  They include; reducing cellulite naturally, easing sciatica pain, and relieving "Dead Butt Syndrome." Plus, it is pretty sexy to watch someone caressing their own ass.

STOP CRITICIZING yourself and others.

Besides spreading bad energy into the universe, it is harmful to focus on the negative.  Everyone has a different opinion about what is beautiful to them, and beauty comes in different shapes, colors and sizes.  The more you criticize, the harder it is to see the good in anything, and the more you start to embody what you say.

I hope to see a lot of women standing in awe of their own bodies.  Just feel beautiful to be beautiful.  Love your ass!