Outside of the Comfort Zone: Volume 2

Since writing the first ‘Outside of Our Comfort Zones‘ post, this has been on my mind more than ever!

It seems as though by starting this series, I’ve given myself an unintentional DARE to get outside of my comfort zone as much as possible! I keep on catching myself trying to back into feelings of safety & having to push myself forward!

I had an outside the comfort zone activity in mind when I went on a short photo walk the other day to explore a movement related prompt in the Be Your Own Beloved class that is now running!

I was having such fun setting the timer and getting playful.  I was intentionally trying to get out of my comfort zone by moving in ways that weren’t my norm, to get out of my movement comfort zone.  I most definitely have ways that it feels like ‘me’ to move in photos, that just feel natural and the way my body naturally wants to move when I click the self-timer to take the photo.

So I was trying to do things a bit differently & see what happened, to move in ways that didn’t feel like the norm for me.

It was actually pretty hilarious to try.

Here are a few of those shots trying to get outside of my comfort zone on the left and on the right, are a few from when I moved back into moving my way…which is such a therapeutic part of the process for me!

I tried a few other locations and then took a peek at what I had taken and pondered which one I might share on social media…there was one that jumped out at me.

Yup, the one at the top of the post.

I loved the way I was moving it it, that didn’t feel like my norm and I dug that it looked like I was running into the frame.

I loved the background.

I loved the energy of it cause it looked like I was having fun.

But one thing stopped me.  How my belly looked.

And my shirt, oh how it flowed and combined with my natural belly shape it looked as though I was pregnant in the photo.

It was definitely outside of my comfort zone and not just in the way I had planned.

Now, I’m not sharing this with you to get you to reassure me that it doesn’t look like I’m pregnant.  For me, sharing a photo that is out of my comfort zone isn’t just about comments.  I feel like when I share something that isn’t as flattering as other photos I might, I’m sharing them so you don’t just see the side of me that is the most curated, the most flattering at that fits inside a mould of what is beautiful.

For me these photos are about the whole picture and about sharing photos that are defined not by how flattering it is, but by about the story of the photo as a whole. Its colour, its textures, the way I move.  Like we discuss in Be Your Own Beloved, its so easy to only define the value of a self-portrait only on how our bodies look…but, well, we are just so much more than only our bodies.

If I’m going to serve you best here with Be Your Own Beloved, it isn’t going to be by sharing only photos I feel ‘pretty’ in or the ones that get the most comments.  It isn’t by only showing flattering photos of myself as inspiration.  If the aim of this site & my work was to help you take flattering photos of yourself, then it would be…but that isn’t the goal here.

The goal is to help you see yourself with more compassion, more love, here and now.  Even if you have a belly or a shirt that flows in your photo.

The goal is to help you see all the good things in a photo & not let that one thing (like my flowy shirt and belly) stop you from seeing it with love.

The goal is to live this work & get brave with it in hopes it will help you feel more comfortable seeing yourself with love here and now.

So while this photo could have just been an outtake (as of course, we don’t need to love every single photo)

I’m glad it ended up being the one that had something to teach me

And that wanted to be seen with compassion.

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Today is the last day to enter to win 1 of 3 spots I’m giving away for the brand new Summer of Selfie Love class!  Head on over to the Facebook Page to enter!!