This week's column is focused more on the ladies. Beauty, in a woman, is something that comes from within. You cannot just be born physically attractive and actually be considered beautiful -- in my book at least. It takes an internal component and a sense of security to really let that internal beauty seep through and become outer beauty.
There are some daily activities that can help us feel more energized, prolong the elasticity of our skin and also keep us more physically fit. However, it's a combination of practicing internal beauty as well as external beauty regimens that has really given me the strength and endurance, as a woman, to perform physically and mentally on a daily basis.
For those of you who follow my blog, you might have seen my more recent post about "5 Beautiful Tips" that I practice regularly. Today I am going to talk about those five a little bit more in depth and how they help create a more beautiful "me."
1. Prayer/meditation/relaxation: You need time to reflect, unwind and free your mind. If I go even a day without a meditation and prayer session, my emotions and drive fall apart. I have to have this time to myself in order to recoup, regroup and bounce back in action. I have to remind myself that I am not in control of what goes on in my life, but as long as I stay true to my purpose and plan, eventually it will all fall into place. When I graduated college, I was unemployed for about a month. In that month I probably prayed 500 times and just tried to stay focused, positive and in touch with myself. At the end of a graduation vacation, I was approached with a job offer with Fitcore that has been the biggest blessing in my life.
Never give up on what you are trying to achieve, and never stop praying and being thankful for what you have and for what is yet to come.
2. Always (always, always, always) eat breakfast. Eating breakfast gives me tons of energy and that extra boost to start my day. I love breakfast so much that I blog and write about it often. Breakfast increases my ability to concentrate at work and at a home, and I always am much more productive on a day that I have a well-balanced breakfast. My favorite breakfast is an egg white scramble with tons of veggies, or wheat toast with organic, unsalted creamy almond butter with sliced bananas and some ground cinnamon on top. My mom made that all the time when we were younger. I have since realized the awesome nutritional value that breakfast provides to your body in the morning.
Your glucose levels are very low in the morning and that is why it is so important to eat something within 30 minutes of waking up -- so that you can raise those glucose levels. A lot of chemical reactions in your body cannot happen without glucose.
3. Limit the hot tools: Try not to use a blow dryer, curling iron or straightener every day. The heat is really damaging to your hair and can make the ends break off and make your hair appear shorter. Trust me, I learned the hard way. Try a side braid (I really like fish-tail braids) or a sleek bun instead. This will give your hair a break and keep it tough and strong. In the winter, with the wind and the rain, an easy updo is the way to go.
4. EFAs really are essential. omega-3, 6, and 9 are essential fatty acids, which means that they are essential to your body, but you don't manufacture them on your own. You must get them through your diet or supplementation. I do both. omega-3s are fish and flax oils, omega-6s are from nuts and omega-9s are from oils, such as grapeseed oil and olive oil. EFAs decrease bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol (HDL), improve your metabolism, enhance brain function, improve mobility, and make you more alert.
5. Wash your face before bed. First of all, it feels good waking up in the morning having washed your face the night before, and waking up feeling well pretty much dictates how the rest of your day will go. Do not be lazy and forget, ladies. Even if you keep some of those makeup-removing cloths by your bed, anything is better than nothing. Also, your face is absorbing oils from your pillow case, so make sure you wash those often, and wash your face so that all the makeup and oil from the day doesn't transfer onto the pillow case. I had horrible stress and hormone-induced acne at 20 and 21, so that was something I adopted quickly, because every little thing helped!
These are five easy tips to keep us women feeling beautiful on the inside and letting it reflect on the outside. It's up to us to keep up on these tips and others in order to see and maintain results. Whenever I feel a little bit lazy, I always remember 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
Let the outside reflect what's on the inside.
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