THIS IS: LAUREN’S STORY
My personal my journey of exploring what ‘beauty’ started around my teenage years when I felt like a bit of a tomboy, I was very sporty, a bit intimidated by ‘girly girls’ and maybe perhaps felt a little misplaced being a mixed raced girl in a predominantly caucasian school.
Looking back I think I was sucked into the idea that ‘different’ or ‘quirky’ wasn’t feminine or attractive, but ‘blonde’ and ‘girly’ was what was considered universally pretty.
It wasn't until I started travelling at around 20-25 did I see how beauty standards, expression, womanhood and femininity can be so different! So unique, so varied, so influenced by that country's history, culture, climate, fashion and so on. It totally changed my perspective on what beauty could be.
This really helped me see that ‘beauty’ is universal, wonderfully self-claimed and can be whatever you want it to be for yourself. And that there are also many different ways beauty can be expressed or received - visually, energetically, personality.
Over the years I’ve learnt to totally own ME. My curvaceous body shape, my beautiful honey brown skin, my curly hair, my radiant smile, by big laugh, all of it - and you know what happened? I SHINE. The same way anyone can when they just do themselves.
self love & acceptance was surpisingly a huge part of it
This was a beautiful realisation that really first came after my first Happiness & Self Development Workshop in Peru in 2018, the concept of self love and self acceptance. It came up for me that even through everything on the outside of my life was successful, exciting and full of fun - there was a big part of my internal world that was still battling feeling not good enough, not pretty enough, and also not fully trusting that I’m deserving of everything that I want in life. And boy was that a life changing unblocking within me.
It was after this that I really broke down what self love and self acceptance looks like on a daily basis.
I started incorporating morning and evening rituals of self care into my routine.
I based all my decisions on what will make me the most proud of myself, and not what is easiest, the ‘right’ thing, or keeps me in my comfort zone.
I educated myself on my menstrual cycle so I learnt to thrive in my high energy days, and nourish, rest and recover in my low energy/mood days so I can listen to my body as a form of self love as a woman.
I started becoming very honest with my thoughts, feelings and opinions on things without fear of rejection from others in conversations - this enabled me to show up as my true self and feel proud of who I am and what I have to say in the world.
And many more tools to help me life a life of self love and acceptance.
does that mean i’m “free” and completely myself now? nope. i’m still beautifully human.
For me self expression is just a huge symbolic gesture to yourself and the world around you of how you want to be seen, how you want to show up and be received, felt, seen and connected to.
This was actually quite a bit of a journey for me because through practising self enquiry I realised it goes hand in hand with my self confidence. If I feel great about myself then I want to “dress up” and shine. If I’m feeling low then I want to hide. I think that's pretty normal. So I wouldn’t say that through years of doing work on myself that now I've found the ‘golden ticket’ and am “completely myself now”, but the number of days in a year that I show up and want to shine totally outnumber the days I feel insecure. I certainly still struggle with imposter syndrome professionally here and there, but that is my next hero's journey - to overcome that!
I mentioned dressing up - let me explain. A few years ago I decided to symbolically start to dress better and show more intention to myself with how I want to show up in the world, choosing colours and styles that were bold and colourful (and intimidating!) instead of black and hiding my body. I started wearing jewellery, actually getting my hair and nails done and made myself feel like a princess every week, even in small ways. This was a bigger deal for me then I realised coming from sporty tomboy to embracing my femininity and all the beauty, poise and power that it actually comes with it!
why i made my platform a place to challenge beauty standards and celebrate my version of beauty and health
I’ve been a personal trainer and a health coach for about 8 years now. I used to be that typical gym nut chasing muscle, overtraining and undereating and prescribing clients the same in pursuit of the ultimate fat loss + muscle gaining programs.
It didn’t take long before I realised this was not sustainable, healthy or enjoyable, and over time also noted that my clients true motivations at the gym were so much deeper than just ‘weight loss’ - but had bigger intentions to do with attraction, success, self esteem, body love and so on.
This opened up the door for me to study (and embody) counselling, coaching and our relationships to our bodies, food and ourselves on a deeper level. This quickly turned into a passion that I wanted to dive into, and to also simultaneously share the lessons and gifts I was soaking up on happiness within ourselves and our bodies, and the key to understanding our own WHY’s.
This helped me see how there is no one size fits all approach to what we should eat, how we should move our bodies, how we should look, let alone live our lives. THIS was the birth of me celebrating uniqueness and what works for YOU as a client. Beauty is 100% our own to define and play with!
what i want to inspire and see more of in the world
If I could do anything It would be to help inspire people to live their healthiest and happiest lives! All my study on nutrition, fitness and lifestyle coaching plus personal lessons, trials and errors I’ve experienced over the years I’ve put into an affordable course so that anyone can sign up and learn basic, everyday tools, hacks, great habits, cheat sheets and everything in between to shift your mindset, to practise self and body love and to simply thrive in the skin you’re in. Through the course, 1-on-1 coaching and all my social platforms I just want my message to be to choose happiness everyday, love the body you’re in no matter WHAT, and give yourself love in every way.
I think there’s been a big global shift in the last few years about ‘learning to be more selfish’, the benefits of having boundaries and protecting your energy and to make sure you practise self care daily/weekly and I’m all for that! I definitely hope to see more and more of that, as well as celebrating our bodies whatever shape or size, and learning to love ourselves no matter what.
my little tip to living a happier life
As simple or cheesy as it sounds, probably to actively practise gratitude daily. We can’t feel anxiety or feel depressed AND feel gratitude at the same time. I used to get weirded out by the idea and thought it was another random spiritual practice [laughs] but I actually love it now.
I love having gratitude for the strong, healthy, working body that I have. Having gratitude for the loved ones we have around us. Having gratitude for ourselves, our health and mindset, our choices. I think being grateful for the things in our lives it's beautiful, comforting, relaxing and makes us feel safe and proud. It's a super power action with magnifying results I feel.
It’s certainly an underutilised tool anyone can access. Just to take a moment everyday and feel it all. That shines out of us. Having gratitude for all the beauty, and all the types of beauty. It also creates acceptance and trust with everything that IS as well as a result.
And lastly, Lauren, what is your perception of beauty?
“For me, beauty is owning who you are, being brave enough to show up in the world as your most authentic self, and f***king SHINING. That is magic that is mesmerising to see. The Ultimate Beauty. - Lauren Burchell
Wow! Lauren, thank you so much for sharing your story, wisdom and perspective on what beauty means to you. Some great advice for us to take on board.
Follow Lauren here on Instagram @holifitbylauren
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