How To Be More Confident In My Lingerie
So, I've been asked to write a blog for this beautiful site, supporting amazing women, both literally and figuratively because ladies, and some gentlemen, how hard is it to find a decent bra?!
So what have I got to do with this where I come from? I am a woman who has been many shapes and sizes across many years, struggling in the corporate world with finding a decent bra, I guess probably struggling to fit into society, because I'm a bit on the edge and a bit different as we all are along the way.
My story is one of resilience and determination, I had a car accident back in 2009 and was diagnosed with degenerating disc disorder - I struggled to walk and a good day was walking around the garden a few times, and a bad day was all about the sofa (and chocolate!) meaning I piled on the weight, as my confidence dropped through the floor - but of course I put on a big brave face through all of that, because that's what we do, right? That's what we are supposed to do?
Man, I wish I had found this amazing website for beautiful bras long before now! How much easier is this kind of shopping than embarrassing changing rooms, where you are unsure which size is going to fit you, taking in 10 items of the same thing in different sizes to save the embarrassment of the dreaded muffin top, and don't even get me started on the myth of the thigh gap!
Oh and societies habit of body shaming, the magazines and media telling us what size we should be?
Well, I call bullshit on that.
I'm here to say that who gives a flying F what size you are? The biggest thing I've learnt through all of this: size does NOT matter, not one bit! It's all about feeling good from the inside out, having fun and enjoying life - being happy with you, in your skin! Yeah yeah yeah I hear you say, we've all heard that, so what can you say that I haven't heard before? Ok, well here's the next chapter of my story, and you possibly haven't heard this story before…
As I said, I've degenerating disc disorder, the docs & physio told me that I needed to 'strengthen my core' as is regularly the instruction with these things - after 2 years I got really (really) bored with Pilates and knew I needed to carry on with the exercise. Now I should say, I love Pilates for what it's done for my body, and I love Pilates for the relaxation aspect of things – however, when it's the only exercise that's being done, it's gets boring as hell – so I decided to try something new out!
So, in my early 40's, as a size 20 I took up Pole Fitness. Yes POLE fitness/dancing whatever you want to call it. Yes, that kind of pole. It was the BEST thing I could ever have done for my body confidence, it did not matter what I was feeling when I walked in, how conscious of my legs I was feeling - how nervous I felt, when 20 minutes into the class you have realised that you are seriously over dressed in a pair of cycling shorts, and that actually you need the shortest of shortest shorts for pole, because it's all about skin grip, don't you know! By class three you've had your instructors hands on your ass holding you up the pole so many times, you are fearing that you have a permanent imprint of her handprint on there, any thoughts of body consciousness go out of the window, especially as you are in a room full of women (and the occasional man) who don't give a damn about what they look like, they are far more interested in what they are doing, as, one thing I have learnt, is that hanging upside down from the pole by one leg requires ALL of your concentration, a great meditation tool that.
So, that leads me neatly to what I do now, after leaving the corporate, highly stressful, life behind, I began teaching natural, holistic stress management techniques to those who are still on the Hamster Wheel of Life, teaching people to find a slice of Happiness in their world, no matter what they are faced with, and to help them find a peace in their heart they had long forgotten about. It's amazing to help so many people, across so many industries, and is a real honour to help people find themselves again - in fact I wrote a book about it, so if you are finding life difficult at the moment and in the overwhelm of life, feeling stressed, tired, exhausted, run down and generally not brilliant, then I'm sorry to hear that - please do click here to grab your free copy of my book :-
http://www.mynaturalhappiness.com/a-love-letter-to-my-old-self-book/
Oh, and the pole fitness? I'm still loving it a few years later, size is NOT important, health is - and I'm pleased to say with pole, good diet, increased happiness and vitality from the inside out, I've dropped a few dress sizes - meaning my back is so much stronger, I am stronger and I'm healthier than I have been in a long long while, so a big yay to that! Here are a few photos of my pole journey - and nope, it's not mentioned in the book!
So, I hope that you have enjoyed this blog, you enjoy browsing the amazing lingerie on this website, please do let me know if you've any thoughts or questions around this and pop any comments below,
Wishing you a beautiful and magical day,
With Love,
Kate Arbuckle, mynaturalhappiness.com