Authentic Beauty
Who is the most beautiful person you know?
Close your eyes and think back over all the people you’ve known in your life. Who stands out as the most beautiful for you? Do they really have every hair in place, perfect features, clothing, shoes and–um–the perfect handbag or car? Or is it their genuine smile, ease of being, vitality, warmth, generosity and personal style that wins them your own ‘most beautiful person’ award?
External appearance is a great initial attention-getter. Sure, it will turn your head and make you look, but that’s just an introduction to the possibility of beauty. While someone may have a classically beautiful face at first glance, if they continually talk negatively, reek of bad breath or body odor or demonstrate other unappealing manifestations of imbalance, their prettiness spoils very quickly! No cosmetics can hide these flaws!
Authentic beauty is revealed less through how you look, than through your energetic presence–the full effect of your mental and physical being. Your beauty shines through the sparkle in your eyes, the lustre of your hair, the grace and confidence of your movement, your speech, actions, spiritual rootedness–even your level of comfort with reality, your relationship to nature and how good you feel about yourself. These ultimately determine how attractive you are to others.
In Ayurveda, health is the foundation of beauty. When your digestion is adequate and balanced, your doshas reside in their proper places in equilibrium, your tissues form correctly, your physical and mental organs function well, your wastes eliminate in the right form and amount, and finally, your immunity and sense of self–called ojas in Ayurveda–is ample and strong. You’re healthy–and beautiful!
While you can’t control every factor of life, what you do every day–when you rise, what you eat, what exercise you get, what you expose your senses to, and where you direct your mind–can encourage or diminish all aspects of your well-being, and ultimately, your ojas, the source of your authentic beauty.
True beauty is an expression of abundance, a natural overflowing of embodied life force emanating from who you really are. When you’re filled with vitality, your vibrance is expressed so generously, you become irresistibly attractive!
