Self Discovery, Self Worth and the Pursuit of Beauty

Attraction to beauty is based on our primal instinct for survival as species.

The above scientific claim may surprise you. As a bookworm, I found the statement delightfully enlightening but unjustly vindicating the males species whom I had long scorned for being the more shallow sex for choosing beauty over brains. Years ago a TV program (CBC) proclaimed that men were programmed by nature to select the most beautiful as their mates to ensure the propagation of the human race.

Then to make me really feel I was raised on another planet --- it claimed that females naturally are atracted to mates that can support the family. This was one moment of enlightenment for me! I no longer was so sure of my embrace of idealistic principles or my perception of being human.

No, I did not become an advocate of plastic surgery to successfully use modern science to mimic male fantasy. After all we women no longer yearn to be chosen for our abilities to mate. Not consciously anyway. - So why then work at being deemed beautiful?

If we remove the time sensitive values out of the scientists' argument, we can learn that our primal instinct for "beauty" is basically a preference for wellbeing.

So redefining beauty as the unveiling of our awareness and our uniqueness can reconnect us with our true nature. Therefore, contrary to our conditioning, it is ideal to look into a mirror and use the information found in your eyes, tongue and skin to tell you about your day to day health.

If your skin is dehydrated - you can maintain a youthful appearance by moisturizing your skin more more to keep up good circulation. But since dehydrated skin is signally the beginning of internal dehydration -- ensure internal health by increasing the consumption of hydrating foods like herbal teas, vegetables, and soups on such days.

If you still have a white coating on your tongue after the morning is long gone; it is telling you that your body is sluggish and need help with digestion and elimination. Spice up your next meal and forgo the sugary snacks along with other "Kapha Carbs". Pump up your exercise from a relaxing Yoga class to a high impact aerobics one. If the condition is chronic then your skin will scream at you by being dull and congested. While you can improve your appearance temporarily with good skincare, you really need to change diet and lifestyle to increase your internal fire or "Chi"

So as you see, a moderate regard for your external appearance is healthy and very advisable. Taking time daily to keep skin in good condition will not only help to keep skin attractive but also promote good circulation and body temperature control.

Where it can be a bit over the top when we become self critical and adopt a belief that our beauty is based on some one else's definition of beauty.

And extreme solutions are very poor substitutes for daily maintenance. They cheat us of our self discovery. Self love leads to true beauty which spirals back to feed our self confidence and so on and so forth - So goes the circle of growth and wellbeing.

Belated Valentine : Being Loving to Ourselves

Gotcha!

It's now three weeks since my last entry. This delayed blog entry is an indication of a blip in my time management resolution. This transition period where I have been mildly successful in not over working to complete what is on my to do list (Pitta) I have not been able make that list short enough to allow time for them or to say no to last minute diversions. (Vata).

When I am working with my clients I noticed most of my female clients instinctively help me even when they need to strain their muscles to do it. I use that moment as an opportunity to help them realize how they are always cognizant of the needs of others and their inability to just receive.

My male clients seem to have no problem just receiving even though they have heavier bodies and therefore there are times I strain myself to give them the same bodywork as my female clients.

So while the resolution to manage time in a more balanced manner and one to lose weight may seem unrelated, it may share a common desire to finally focus on us and our needs.

This Saturday Kristen and I along with a staff member, who is also a Holistic Nutritionist worked a conference for Holistic Nutritionists. Both Kristen + I probably were the best qualified to present the Holistic Health approach to beauty, but we were both there mainly because we both considered the needs of our staff before ourselves.

I observed that all the attendees were women. They all had the passionate to increase their knowledge to better help their clients but they share a struggle to create a career as they cared so much for their clients they were not fairly compensated for their valuable advice. Tahlia our staff member who also is a Holistic Nutritionist is able to practice her second profession with the help of another career in Esthetics. The other nutritionists were able to practice with the help of a supporting life partner.

These very dedicated women know their work is valuable as good nutrition is the best way to leading a disease free, healthy life. While client should appreciate the worth of their counsel, the Nutritionists need find a means to create this recognition and be fairly rewarded for the value of their guidance.

Can we all see how we can use this in our own life. A good start will be to sell ourselves first!