Bare-Body Confidence
Developing bare-body confidence in yourself is essentially why boudoir photographers exist. Julia Vie at Vivian's Muse has made it her life's mission to empower the women she coaches and photographs so they might feel stronger and sexier than ever before. But how is a woman supposed to take that first step towards accepting her nude body for what it is? Why should she bother? The answer to these questions is threefold. WHO? Who should consider taking steps to becoming comfortable with their own nudity? The answer is simple: Anyone. Everyone. Your body is yours and was built that way it was just for you. It's yours to care for, adjust, behold and share at your discretion. HOW? How do you become more comfortable in your own skin?
STOP COMPARING. Your body will NEVER look like anyone else's. It's yours and yours alone. It was meant for you and by comparing it to someone else's, you're doing yourself a disservice. DON'T USE NEGATIVE WORDS. Beating yourself (or heaven forbid, someone else!) down by using body-degrading words is incredibly damaging. Hearing them directed at you is just as terrible. Negativity breeds negativity and you will soon start to feel "fat" if you keep telling yourself you are. If you're so hell-bent on making a change, use POSITIVE words and inspire good health by role modelling. PRACTICE!! Get comfortable in your own skin when nobody is looking! Don't be afraid of a fulllength mirror! Getting to know your whole body will help lower your anxiety and build up your bare-body confidence. Once your body becomes "normal" to you, it will be easier to focus on the positive aspects of it and open you up to the possibility of sharing it with others. EXPLORE. We automatically feel vulnerable when we're nude, but exploring ways to make adjust yourself or your environment so you can feel strong and confident while nude with your partner will help you realize that it's truly not about how you look, but rather about the closeness of the moment and the long-term connections being nourished.
WHY? Why is any of this important? Why should be even bother to build bare-body confidence? What is gained?
CONFIDENCE. Plain and simply put, by throwing out the negativity and exploring and sharing your body, you will build a personal confidence in yourself that will run deeper than you ever could have imagined. You'll also be building your relational confidence - how you relate physically and sexually to your current or future partner is an enormous part of those relationships. By building up your bare-body confidence now, you'll be setting yourself up for a proud, confident future regardless of your relationship status. SATISFACTION. It would be great to always be 100% pleased with what we see in the mirror each day - it's human nature to be hard on ourselves, but by throwing out the negativity and