Curvy Expo- The Embodiment of the Body Positivity Movement

I wanted to share with you a wonderful event I attended over the weekend.  The first ever Canadian Curvy Expo (http://curvyexpo.com/). I brought my beautiful curvy daughter who was so excited to participate in this incredible body positive event.

I am SO pleased to live in a decade where this body positive movement is now part of the vocabulary, where super models like Ashley Graham grace the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and People’s most beautiful women. Where actresses like Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson are so busy making movie after movie and in such high demand. We need more of this!!!!

This is so different from the way I grew up in the 80's. I used to hide the stores my clothes came from for fear of being embarrassed and shy away from any body discussions with friends or family.  As I was mentioning to Meghan Bradley, the show director and former model (pictured below), in my day there was nothing like this. No celebration of who we were but just body shame really. I mentioned that I was so happy that my little girl could be part of this amazingly positive shift in our society – the body positive movement- and I how I was so grateful for this show, this venue and the community of support that is around us curvy girls because of people like her.

The energy was positively electric! It was a sisterhood of love and support for the curvy woman.

Seminars and an amazing fashion show kept us interested all day. Curvy Bloggers everywhere, from my daughter meeting some amazing younger bloggers who totally reflect the cool, urban vibe in their shirt designs, Flaws of Couture (http://focapparel.storenvy.com/), to me meeting my own curvy fashion superstar, Assa Cisse of My Curves and Curls, (http://www.mycurvesandcurls.com/).

How awesome is it that my daughter feels so confident in celebrating her curves?  Just look at her shirt….  Thanks Addition Elle for your cool fashion-forward clothes. #iamsizesexy , she got so many great compliments about it all day. Perfect shirt to reflect the perfection of this event!

The entire tone of the event was just so supportive and celebratory. From the seminars on loving yourself inside and out, body positivity, fashion and makeup tips from curvy TV personalities. Oh and not to mention…. the great coupons and free bras. Thanks Penningtons!

The loving your curves and body positivity movement does not mean I'm giving up on my healthy living focus. It is in fact loving who you are now, with your curves, with your amazing heart, mind and soul. A remarkable ‘a-ha’ moment for me was when one of the seminar leaders,  Liis  Windischmann (http://www.liisonlife.com/)  mentioned that we need to focus on LOVE, and I know that… I just forgot about it for a while… If you negative body thoughts in your mind like – I hate my flabby arms (sounds like me), you need to refocus that hate into love. Instead, think of a way to love your arms. Instead, say to yourself, 'I love my arms because they allow me to hug the ones I love and make delicious meals for my family'… now THAT’S LOVE!  

Liis was displaying a page from an online adult colouring book (so popular these days), it really caught my attention as I saw a plus size woman on the front of the cover running. I later went home and checked out this totally mind-shifting, body loving website.

Bold Strokes, a colouring book for plus size athletes can be found at the Born to Reign Atheltics website (http://www.borntoreignathletics.com/)  
I immediately logged on and subscribed to receive the link to the printable pages.  Krista Henderson, the website’s creator, is a plus size athlete in triathlon who “…started to train like an athlete in response to her commitment of living an active and healthy lifestyle’. This part is amazing and resonates so much with me- “…she constantly felt the need to ‘fix’ herself by solely focusing on losing weight”. “…the foundation of the athletic lifestyle is rooted in properly fueling your body, working out with a purpose and getting plenty of rest”. Ok sign me up!

So you ask me, am I giving up on my journey….Oh no, I am still a healthy living warrior, in fact, it's completely motivated me to be a super athlete, a super fashionista and continue being a delicious food creator and blogger. I just now see that I need to love myself and my curves every step of the way.

I can’t wait to go back next year and get even more involved in the Curvy Expo! Thank you to Meghan Bradley and all the amazing curvy women who helped make this day so memorable.