5 Ways to Be More Beautiful (Almost) Instantly.

Beauty is not only skin deep—beauty radiates from the inside out.

Don’t believe me? Think of the people that you’re drawn to or find attractive, and likely there’s something beyond physical beauty drawing you in.

Charisma, happiness and a warm personality absolutely help boost physical attractiveness. So here are five ways to feel more beautiful—and look more beautiful—(almost) instantly.

1. Exercise. Exercise has physical benefits for your body that show up and help you shine. Working out helps your skin—and inner light—glow (thank all those mood-boosting chemicals). It also helps with weight management and improves self-esteem. Sounds like a good beauty fix to me.

2. Smile. This one is instant. Your heart lightens and it shows on the outside the second you turn up the corners of your lips. Give it a try.

3. Cleanse from the inside. I’m reading a wonderful book about the Yamas and Niyamas in my yoga training. One of the important beauty-related lessons here is that our society is obsessed with outer cleanliness and sadly pays little attention to what’s going into our bodies to keep us clean and pure. Pay attention not only to what you eat and drink but to what you read and who you listen to—and then pay close attention to what you’re saying to others in return. There’s a deep inner peace that comes from living a life of cleanliness—and I’m not talking about stocking up on expensive skin care products.

4. Dress well. I know it probably seems shallow to move from the last tip to this one, but it’s true no matter how you want to count it. Dressing well helps you look and, more importantly, feel better. I remember my twin telling me in high school that on days I was feeling less than stellar I shouldn’t throw on a baggy old t-shirt, I should put on my favorite, form-fitting dress and rock it—and she was absolutely right.

5. Confidence. Wow, this one’s extremely hard to tell you how to accomplish. Still, if you’re confident in yourself (and in more than just your outer appearance), it will show and it will make you more attractive. Again, think of someone you find attractive. I guarantee that physical perfection isn’t part of it, because none of us is perfect. Yet, these quirks, these individual little traits that make you you, actually make you more endearing.

Step 1 in boosting confidence (let’s start one step at a time): stop saying nasty things to yourself. Trust me on this one. Thoughts become words and words become actions. Talk to yourself the way that you would a child—with patience, kindness and love. Developing this sort of soft inner voice will help your outer voice resonate more beautifully—and your outer appearance too.

Don’t get frustrated if you wake up and roll out of bed, and don’t feel at the top of your game. We all have down days. Instead look in the mirror and focus on what you love. Spending time focusing on the positive reinforces these attributes and helps them radiate out into the world. You are beautiful.

So go ahead and hop on your yoga mat to get those endorphins flowing—and give yourself permission to share your beauty with the world today and every day.

Photo: Nikos Koutoulas/Flickr.

This article was first published by elephant journal.

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