As a qualified Personal Trainer with a passion for health and fitness, Tess strives to be a positive influence to women of all ages. Here at Believe in Beautiful we share in her desire to empower women to be their own style of beautiful by promoting and encouraging healthy body image. We hope everyone can take something away from Tess’s fantastic blog. Perspective. What a funny concept it is. Looking at the same thing, from a different angle can completely change its perceived appearance? Crazy. When you are right in the thick of things, you cannot be objective. Well, this is awkward…because I’m about to talk about your body, the thing you LIVE in and I need you to be objective. Have you ever thought about how you look in the mirror and fixate on the parts you don’t like? How you stand in front of the mirror and grab a certain area and think “if I could just cut off this part everything would be ok”. It’s almost like you disassociate yourself with your body… Like your brain and body are in some strange way, not connected? Point, Case. I just said it! “Your body the thing you live in”. As if they aren’t one in the same? Anyway. We are all guilty of this. Too often we wish with all our might that we had another body. But what if our bodies got to pick who lived in them? What if your body had a voice and was calling the shots. What if your body said “If only the brain living in my head was a little nicer to me everything would be better”. “If only she listened when I told her I can’t handle this food” and “Hey lady…I really need some greenery”. Would your body want ‘you’ to live in it? Do you listen to the hints and nudges and screams your body gives you? The thing is it does have a voice. We just have a tendency not to listen. Time to unmute your body and feel connected to it. (Maybe apologise for having selective hearing) and give it some well-deserved TLC. Feeling mentally and physically fit, healthy and happy, is such a blessing. Building this cohesive unit should never be thought of as a chore. It’s rewarding. Eating good, healthy food is not just to take a pretty picture for social media, it’s to fuel and reward your incredible body. Take a step back, and get some perspective on “you”. Objectively look at how you feel; your lifestyle, your diet, your exercise routine. Listen to the signs and symptoms your body gives you on a daily basis and adjust accordingly. But more than that, be nicer to yourself; your whole self. Be friends with “you”. Love the body you have and work hard to keep your mind body and soul, unified! Because with YOU on your side… anything is possible.