San Francisco Womens Journal » Beauty

Honor Yourself by Looking and Feeling Your Best!

SFWJ — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:56:53 +0000

Did you vow to lose weight, exercise, eat healthy and spend less this New Year’s Eve? Perhaps you’ve already forgotten the resolutions or gotten off track. No matter. It isn’t too late to begin again.

by Michele Benza, San Francisco Image Consultant

Michele Benza

But first I have a question for you. When you made your resolutions, did you ask yourself if they were really what you wanted? Do you know the reason why you made these resolutions?

Remember, only you know what’s best for you.

Resolutions as Achievable Goals

Here’s another question. Could you view your resolutions as achievable goals rather than resolutions? It’s important to be honest with yourself and set goals that are realistic and attainable. They should excite you so you’re motivated to follow through and have fun in the process of realizing them.

Or consider the message you send to those who care about you, when you’re demonstrating that you care about yourself. It’s both inspiring and comforting because they can see that you care enough about them… to take care of yourself.

How would it make you feel if you succeeded in “tweaking” facets of your appearance that you find problematic? What if you learned to love your wardrobe, your figure, your natural physical highlights, YOUR LIFE?

Resolutions/Goals to Inspire You!

Relying on my experience as a Personal Image Coach, I’ve put together a list of attainable goals/resolutions that you may want to consider. I hope that these ideas serve as an inspiration that it’s never too late to begin again. Choose 2 or 3 to incorporate into your daily living practices. And turn those burdensome New Year’s resoultions into goals that help you to look and feel your best!

1. Clean out your wardrobe and remove all the toxic elements and eyesores from your closet.

2. Remove an item from your closet each time you put a new one in it.

3. Honor your clothes and accessories by keeping them clean, in good repair, and stored properly.

4. Do not buy on impulse; instead shop with focus.

5. Buy only the best quality items you can afford.

6. Make sure your clothes fit properly, and if they don’t take them to be professionally altered.

7. Take excellent care of your skin using a cleanser, toner and moisturizer twice a day religiously.

8. Make the best of your appearance every day not only for you, but for others as well. Even when you’re having a bad hair day.

9. Schedule regular haircuts.

10. Improve your posture, walk tall and engage your abs.

The best way to stay on course is frequent self-monitoring. Print your goals, and tape the list on your bathroom mirror. Check it regularly.

Remember, you honor yourself and those you love by feeling good and looking the best you can. Appearance is not a magical gift. It is an ability that we can all learn and cultivate.

A la prochaine,

Michele Benza is the founder of “Michele Benza Image Consulting and Posture” a program that focuses on enhancing one’s personal and professional image. She is certified in image consulting from European Institutions and her niche is European style and elegance. Michele is a member of the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) and is the only American member of the Association Francaise pour L’image Professionnelle et Personnelle (AFIPP)!

Michele Benza is San Francisco’s best kept secret! To learn more, please visit her website at MicheleBenza.

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Beauty From the Inside Out

SFWJ — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:45:05 +0000

As that old adage reminds us “Beauty is only skin deep.” We can make ourselves very attractive with clothing and accessories but true beauty comes from within.

By Michele Benza, San Francisco Image Consultant

Michele Benza

How many times have you seen someone who is not conventionally attractive but yet is perceived as beautiful because he or she radiates a sense of well-being and an inner knowing of their self-worth and purpose in the world?

They are completely at ease with themselves and the world.

Make Time to Take Good Care of Yourself!

It is vitally important that we take as good care of ourselves within as we do with our outside appearance. It is of course much easier to enhance our beauty externally. Developing aspects of ourselves within that make us feel comfortable in our skin and accept our perceived physical flaws…is more challenging.

Many of us have internal gremlins that are hell bent on eroding our confidence and self-esteem. We can counter those critical gremlins by learning to accept ourselves as we are–large hips and all! Of course it is important that we try to modify negative behavior patterns and take action to improve our physical well-being in any way we can. But always be realistic.

Some of us simply don’t have a Julia Roberts smile. But a smile is a smile is a smile and can lift your spirits and those of others around you.

10 Quick Tips to Improve Your inner Beauty
There are many simple things you can do to improve your inner well-being. There are myriads of books and articles with great advice on how to achieve this but; here are some of my quick and easy pointers:

1. Take time out to truly relax whether it is just being quiet listening to music or taking a stroll alone or with someone you love.

2. Avoid negative thinking and people!

3. Breathe! Learn some simple breathing techniques that are calming and centering.

4. Turn the lights low or light candles when you eat, take a long bath or shower.

5. Find ways to create harmony in your mind and in your life through a mind-body practice.

6. Choose a physical activity that resonates with your body whether it is Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, hip-hop, pole, swing or ballroom dancing, rollerblading or simply walking. Make time for whatever it is regularly. Once you develop the habit, you’ll find your body demands that you keep it!

8. Be grateful each day for whatever it is that is good in your life whether it be health, loving family and friends, a roof over your head, a comfy bed, a delicious meal, a beautiful sunny day.

9. Meditate. If sitting still for any length of time is challenging, try an activity like Tai Chi that incorporates meditation with movement.

10. Be optimistic against all odds.

11. Live in the moment.

Remember we all have the capacity to be beautiful, no matter our physical appearance.

Michele Benza is San Francisco’s best kept secret! To learn more, please visit her website at MicheleBenza.

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