This topic goes deep, whether you’re looking to brush up on your body care rituals & routines or you’re interested in developing a better relationship with the way you actually see yourself naked, there’s a lot to tap into when we discuss our physical form & our naked bodies.

Being completely naked is to be vulnerable. Vulnerability requires courage, and with that comes a profound demand for self-admiration & deep love of oneself and one’s body. Now, not all of us have access to those feelings of confidence and positive body image (thanks, Vogue magazine circa 1991). Today's society holds a tight grip on our malleable minds since the time we were just children and teens, giving us morphed mindsets & false senses of what a “beautiful”, “normal” or “healthy” body looks like. Thankfully, there has been a profound awakening in the beauty & fashion industries in terms of body image & positivity, offering countless campaigns on inclusivity & diversity. While those are amazing, we must not stop there, we must continue to work on an individual level to heal the wounds and to step further into divine self-love & conviction.

Cultivating that confidence and admiration for your body is a practice, one that often gets overlooked for its importance in terms of being a part of our daily rituals. The body is our sacred temple, our divine vessel & our home. We must ask ourselves, how can we unlearn what we’ve been conditioned to believe about our naked bodies? How can we transform those outdated thoughts of imperfection or even unworthiness? Today we’re sharing our favorite ways to cherish, honor, and truly love her - your beautiful, perfect body.

The Art of Being Naked...

One of our favorite ways to work with how we see ourselves is to simply strip down and step in front of your favorite full-length mirror, cue “mirror work”. Mirror work is actually a method developed & coined by inspirational teacher Louise Hay, who wrote an entire book regarding this practice. It’s a beautiful way to truly meet yourself, as you are, allowing yourself to step into a space of acceptance and connect with your beauty on a soul level. When we are able to see ourselves for who we truly are on the inside, we begin to see that beauty reflected on the outside. There is a lot of psychological research behind this practice, telling us that the mirror is a powerful tool we can use to connect to ourselves in order to understand our own reflections, and in turn, develop a more positive self-image.

To start working with yourself in the mirror, you should dedicate a little moment of time, it can even be just five minutes to start, where it’s just you & your body. Set your space and set your intention for your practice. Maybe light a candle, put your favorite essential oils in your diffuser and declare out loud or write down what it is that you’d like to work on. Focus on the breath and meet your gaze in the mirror. As you do so, allow any of the negative thoughts and emotions to rise… that is how you will transmute them, by feeling them deeply. Observe your thoughts, your critiques, and also note what you LOVE & admire about your body. Don’t forget to tell yourself how beautiful you really are. This can be a ritual you set aside time for every so often, or you can remember to do this before & after showering as a more regular practice.

Another beautiful way to heal the energetics & emotions around our body image is to practice affirmations. You can recite positive & uplifting messages to yourself while you’re mirror-gazing or while putting on your body lotions & oils. One of our absolute favorite body oils for such a luxurious treat is the Agent Nateur Holi (Body). Combining a beautiful body treatment product such as this with the power of our own words (our words are our wands after all) is a potent way to form those mind-body connections of self-love. Some of our favorite affirmations for working with our best naked selves are...

“I accept myself as I am in this moment while simultaneously looking forward to my personal improvement.”

“I am filled with ideas and thoughts that always lead me to LOVE.”

“I meet any negative thoughts and emotions with compassion, kindness, and acceptance.”

“I am comfortable in my own skin and I deserve to feel beautiful, strong, and healthy.”

You can always finish any of your affirmations by saying, “As I affirm this, so it is.” Which helps your mind attach to it on a deeper level, allowing the positive words to have an impact on your brain at a cellular level. This practice, over time, will assist you in building confidence & transforming the relationship you have with yourself and your body.

Another way we can work towards more body-positive lovin’ is to really treat her like the Queen she is. This can range from movement to meditation to nourishing her, as well as self-care in the form of cleansing and grooming. Making sure you are getting your body out in nature, on walks, to the pilates studio, or connecting to her through dance or any other form of physical activity will help you create that bond with your body. Taking time to move and exercise in whatever way feels aligned for you actually helps to enhance the way you feel about and perceive your body. It helps to raise your level of self-efficacy & confidence in what your body can be, do and achieve, which is a beautiful thing. Showing your body your devotion and appreciation by doing light yoga poses or stretching as a part of your daily ritual can also feel very healing.

Nourishing our bodies with a nutrient-dense diet, fresh fruits, vegetables, and plants from Mother Earth can do the same thing as movement. Caring for your body through the way you eat can also help to build up that level of self-respect and self-love. Cook yourself a beautiful, fresh & decadent meal. Go the extra mile to get organic food if it's available to you. Giving her what she is craving, whether that’s a big basket of fresh strawberries and a green juice or indulging in your favorite chocolate chip cookie, is a way to cultivate a relationship with your body. Intuitive eating will help you find balance in not only your diet but with your self-image, helping you look and feel your best.

In addition to yummy produce and delicious nourishing meals, we can also take it to the next level and give our bodies additional vitamins, supplements, and minerals that can help boost our wellbeing, our beauty & in turn, our confidence. Some of our absolute favorite internal supplements come from The Beauty Chef. They have a holistic collection of ultra-nourishing, gut balancing powders and elixirs to help you glow from the inside out.

In terms of self-care practices for the body, our everyday grooming is a divine opportunity to honor, care for, and tend to our bodies. Taking the extra time to be mindful and intentional with the products you use on your body can really improve the connection you have with her. Hence why you’re here and on your journey to use consciously curated, clean products.

Starting with a typical cleansing ritual such as a shower or bath is the perfect time to put your attention and focus on the relationship you have with your body. Make your cleansing time sacred, make it fit for a goddess. Set the mood, set the space, again with either essential oils and a diffuser, candles, flowers, dim lighting, your Lotus Wei Aura Mists, some serene music, and/or anything else that feels aligned for you. Next, you’ll want to go in with some form of exfoliation, a key step while tending to your body. Removing dead skin cells and toxins from the body’s lymphatic system helps to also release stagnant energy you may be carrying. Using either a scrub in the shower or by dry brushing (or both) helps to keep your skin detoxified and the blood flowing properly, making you appear supple, healthy, and glowing. We have a whole blog dedicated to dry brushing and its benefits, as well as other body care hacks. Our favorite scrub is the Patyka Marine Crystals Revitalizing Scrub to leave your skin with that silky, baby-soft texture that will have you feeling yourself. If you prefer to dry brush, the Skin Gym Body Brush has a large surface area for thorough exfoliation.

Some of our favorite body washes and shower products include the Indie Lee De-Stress Body Wash for a calming, soothing cleanse and the Indie Lee Energize Body Wash for mornings when you’re craving something more uplifting. Indie Lee also makes a beautiful Energizing Body Oil that you can put on after your shower as well.

Another aspect of feeling your best in your divine body is to be intentional about how you tend to your lady garden. She is the divine portal to your sacred, sensual self after all. Lady Suite has a beautiful line of divine feminine care products that are pure, gentle, and delicate. Their products are packed with pre and probiotics to help bring your vulva area into harmony. The Refreshing Cleanser is perfect for balancing and nourishing while the Rejuvenating Botanical Oil is a beautiful treatment to use post-shower or bath. Again, you can dive deeper into this area of your body by utilizing mirror-gazing, affirmations, and just overall gratitude. Paying delicate attention to her is a way to respect and honor your body, which in turn builds more self-assuredness and confidence.

Once you’ve gone through your cleansing ritual and lotioned or oiled your body, you can also step things up a notch to help you achieve that ultimate body empowerment. One of the tips is to use products that make you GLOW. We love to go in with a self tanner, which can be amazing for giving you that added color and boost of confidence, especially in the summer months. The Suntegrity Natural Self Tanner is an amazing product that competes against the best in the self-tanning business, sans the nasty chemicals and smell. This product gives the perfect sun-kissed, lit-from-within glow so it’s perfect for an event, a little vacation moment, or whenever you’re in the mood to feel your sexiest. One of Melissa’s tips is to go in with Pai’s The Impossible Glow>, on the legs and on the tops of the shoulders to give that extra sheen. Lastly, and if you really want to shine, another beautiful product to use for your best naked body, is the RMS Living Glow Face & Body Powder. This can be dusted on for a luminous, radiant finish that will help you highlight your best features.

Indulging in these little things from a luxurious body oil to a harmonic wash for your feminine parts can really add up to give you that empowered sense of self, allowing you to feel amazing in your own skin and create the ultimate bond with your inner beauty. You are radiant, you are beautiful, and you are a magnificent being.

Our final tip for your best naked body, is simple - gratitude. Having a heart full of appreciation for the beautiful vessel you were gifted with is the ultimate form of self-love and fulfillment.