Magical Me
What is Magical Me?
Magical Me is a body-positive movement where women learn to love their bodies, share their stories and empower other women to do the same.
The story behind the Magic
One day I was in a clothing store, trying on something I wanted to buy. In the stall next to me, I heard a woman talking to her daughter. She was trying on a bathing suit and mentioned that she used to wear a smaller size. This launched a conversation where her daughter started body-shaming her mom, telling her how fat she looks and how she needs to lose weight. Did I mention that the daughter was a little girl of about 6-8 years old? The mom agreed with the insults and then started body-shaming herself.
I was shocked to my core. In this moment I realised that self-hate has been drilled into us since a very young age. We were taught to believe that self-love is bad and that if you love yourself, and your body, that you are vain. We were taught to believe that you are only worthy to feel good about yourself if you look a certain way and if the scale reflects a certain amount.
This is why I decided to start the Magical Me movement. It’s time that we take back our lives and start loving ourselves like we were meant to. Buy that swimsuit. Wear those leggings. Take that selfie. Book that boudoir shoot. Start feeling good about yourself and be kind to yourself.
How do I join the Magical Me movement?
Option 1: Book a boudoir session! It’s the perfect way to celebrate your body and to feel like the gorgeous woman that you truly are. After my own boudoir shoot I felt liberated from the things I thought were wrong with me. I felt confident and beautiful and I’m so grateful to have had the experience.
Option 2: Join our hashtag #MagicalMeSA on social media. Take a selfie, post it and share your body-positive story on Instagram and Facebook. There is so much power in sharing our stories.
Option 3: Let’s have coffee! I’ve had so many ladies who reached out to me on social media to share their stories. Some of them reached out for advice and encouragement. Some of them just needed a friend during a low time in their body-love journey. Just like these ladies, you are more than welcome to contact me if you’d fancy a chat.
The power of sharing stories
Here are the stories of three of our gorgeous Magical Me ladies. They were so brave in their shoots and so honest in sharing their stories. Have a read through their stories if you could do with some inspiration today.
The story of Keshni
I was 17 years old when I first thought I was fat. Looking back, I wish I was that “fat” now! Some of my recent hang-ups have been focusing on the lumps, bumps and stretch marks instead of celebrating the fact that I earned those stretch marks when I lost 20kgs. I have obsessed over the size of my arms to the point where I would not leave the house in anything sleeveless. I have focused on the 1 or 2 more kgs I’d like to lose rather than appreciate how far I’ve come in my fitness journey.
However, over the past year, I have made a concerted effort to celebrate my body for all the wonderful things that it can do instead of focusing on how much it weighs. Pole fitness has helped me to overcome those hang-ups. I am a work in progress and that’s perfectly okay. (AND I have biceps now).
If I had a daughter I would teach her that she is a whole, to be complemented, not completed by her life partner.
You can lose all the weight in the world but if you don’t love yourself, you’re going to be weighed down forever.
The story of Celia
Like many people, I have parts of me that I don’t love completely. The fact that I’m near-sighted bothers me. I hate the way I scar- my legs are covered in them. I don’t have a six-pack but a round belly named Flubby. But, at the end of the day, everything is such an integral part of who I am that I couldn’t have it any other way. The memories I have from all the falls I took as a child, or undergoing surgery, or picking out glasses with my sisters or all the amazing meals I’ve had… All of that is absolutely priceless to me.
My mother did an amazing job at empowering us. She tells us relentlessly that we are beautiful but she also reminds us that it is no accomplishment, that there is so much more, we are also strong and smart and funny. She’s known all along that the world would tell us otherwise at every turn, all the time. Until, today, hers is still the first voice I hear when doubt creeps in, when the world says my skin is too dark, my hair too nappy, my belly too round, my legs too strong. Sometimes, it’s faint, nothing but a whisper, and sometimes it is loud as thunder, but it is always there.
I think in a lot of ways we do not value our bodies. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that it is frowned upon. Ever notice how when you compliment someone the accepted answer is to deny it or say something self-deprecating in reply like, it’s the dress, it’s the makeup… it’s kind of sad. There’s also the constant pollution from the outside world that establishes standards, true currencies by which you measure beauty, blue eyes, blond hair, thigh gaps… The ever-so lucrative business of making women unhappy, dissatisfied and ashamed. Relentlessly bombarding us all with clichés. It interferes with whatever we would want to tell ourselves.
The story of Marlene
I’ve never been entirely happy with or confident in my body, even as a young girl. There was always something that made me feel self-conscious, either my tummy not being flat enough or my arms not defined properly. Then I had 2 children, which only added to the insecurities. Suddenly I missed the old body, it had less flaws.
One day I decided I wanted to be a better example for my son, I don’t want him to notice the hang-ups that I had, so I very slowly started making small changes. I started a mild exercise routine and eating more healthily. Eventually, the tempo increased to a point where now, 5 years later, I am addicted to my exercise routine and follow a very healthy and active lifestyle, in the hopes of teaching both my sons to respect their bodies and take care of their health. And in the process, I’ve learned to accept my flaws and celebrate my body, rather than hide it.
I’ve realised that there are certain things about my body that will never change, and I am okay with that. Rather than looking at the flaws, I focus on the positive. I still try to improve myself daily, and the results are extremely rewarding. I don’t do anything for anyone’s benefit but my own. Women in general are subjected to so much pressure to be perfect in all areas of life, therefore we never truly feel worthy. I can honestly say that for the first time in my life I don’t need validation or approval from anyone other than myself, and that is incredibly liberating.
The story of (insert your name here)
Sometimes it just takes a leap of faith to start your journey of self-love and body-positivity. Take the plunge, send me a message and book your Magical Me boudoir session today.
Be BRAVE.
DARE to love your body.
And remember- you are MAGICAL.
