International supermodel, Naomi Campbell has a new-found sense of ease in the July issue ofVogue, she discusses how learning to feel present and comfortable in her own body is rooted in her mentality.
The 49 year old Supermodel has also just been signed to a new modelling agency to mark her new glowing age.
“Growing up, I never felt at ease in my skin. At school, people would call me names like Olive Oyl or Twigs, and I felt awkward and inadequate.
The only time I really felt comfortable was in dance classes – then I’d just be present in my body and forget about everything else.
When I started modelling, I didn’t know how to pose, so I would do what I had trained to do: move as though I was performing classical ballet, or jump and leap about in front of the camera.
It wasn’t until I started working with Steven Meisel that I learned to be still, to quieten, and to mould myself into new shapes.
Although whenever I did something like lingerie pictures, I continued to feel incredibly self-conscious. Even in my day-to-day life, if I was in the street wearing tight jeans or leggings, I’d always be sure to tie a cardigan around my waist so that I didn’t feel exposed.
It’s taken me a long time to feel right in my body – it’s something that has come with age, and has really only happened over the past few years.
My mentality has played a big part in that journey, and working out has helped because it strengthens my mind, too – I’m not trying to become a muscle woman but, for me, the two things come as a package.
I’ve learned, too, not to take my body for granted. Some people think that I push myself too hard, but today I know my limits:
I know when I have to take time out. I’ve learned not to feel guilty about staying in bed when I’ve spent several weeks at work; I now know how to lie on the beach and just let the day go by.
For me, it’s all connected – I need a healthy body for a healthy mind and a healthy spirit. I know that what comes from within is projected outwards.”
