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Find Your Raw Beauty

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Certified coach and speaker Kemi Nekvapil invites women to step into their innate beauty by following 7 principles of self-nourishment. 

By Kemi Nekvapil and Deepak Chopra


Raw Beauty is not about changing bad habits—I do not even like using that terminology—but about adding nourishing actions to our lives. However, we, as women, can often struggle to nourish ourselves and our lives.

The Struggle to Nourish Ourselves

Consider these reasons why we struggle so that we can begin to let go of them and invite Raw Beauty into our lives.

We feel not good enough or broken and in need of fixing.

This means we are prone to adopt diets that punish us, that we hope will fix us, for example, or we start courses that promise to change our lives in seven days. And when the diet or course inevitably does not work, we are left feeling not good enough—again—and we give up and feel like a failure. Until we decide to repeat the cycle of fixing ourselves again…

We confuse diet with nourishment.

Do you know anyone who has been on a restrictive diet and felt happy? Not likely or not for long. Losing weight might be easily done, but nourishing our body is something completely different—and many women get the two confused. This is why pre-packaged diet food in plastic trays delivered to your door to be heated in the microwave is a viable business in today’s society. We are confused and overwhelmed by all of the contradictory dietary information out there.

We are unable to say no.

We all love to be of help to others, but if being of service to someone else costs us our well-being, we have a problem. If we are unable to say no to other people, family, work, and so on, there is a very good chance that we are unable to say yes to ourselves. The fear of saying no and upsetting someone can be the biggest source of unfulfilment for many women. When we put our needs, desires and dreams aside it never ends well—we will wake up one day saying, “What happened to ME?”

We take on too much.

We all have full lives and the last thing we need is to bite off more than we can chew. When we take on more than we can handle, we can end up feeling like a failure. If we get overwhelmed and cannot succeed in all we say we will do, this can lead to a victim mentality that impacts not only us but also those around us, and leaves us feeling disempowered and resentful.

We have the "good girl" complex.

The need to be liked and validated is human, but if we are overly concerned with what other people think of us we may find ourselves living their version of our life. Doing what is expected, flying under the radar, and never stepping out of our comfort zone for fear of failure or judgment is how a "good girl" survives. But if we do not create anything for ourselves and do not strive for anything, in the end we feel the loss of passion and joy in our lives. We grow up to be good but unhappy women.

We are waiting for all of the conditions around us to change.

We might think, “When I have lost those 5kg (11lbs), things will be better.” “When I make more money, things will be better.” “When they change their attitude/policy/opinions, then my life will be better.” And when all of those ducks are in a row, we will start to live our lives to our fullest potential. But nothing will line up exactly as we want it to, when we want it to, so we may as well just start to live fully now.

We give away our power.

Taking responsibility for our own life is where the magic is, yet many of us give away our power to our partners, children, bosses, parents, families, business partners, etc. We are the only ones responsible for our life, and every action we have ever taken has led us to where we are now. We may not like what life throws at us, but, happy or sad, healthy or sick, we are 100 per cent responsible for how we react to what happens to us. It is time to take our power back and own our life.

We think self-care is selfish.

We are only just coming out of a time when to do things for ourselves was considered selfish. This way of thinking is hopefully shifting, but many women who are physically and emotionally undernourished still believe that to put themselves first is selfish, uncaring and vain. We worry about what people will say about us if we spend time on our own interests. We are happy to say, “I am so busy at work.” But we are not so comfortable saying, “I am busy looking after myself.” The truth is, we are of no use whatsoever to ourselves or anyone else if we are sick, exhausted, and unfulfilled.

To be able to live a nourished life and embrace our Raw Beauty, we need to begin to let go of the reasons that cause us to struggle. They will not disappear overnight, but letting go of these will make room for your Raw Beauty to shine and thrive. 

7 Principles of Raw Beauty 

This concept is based on the idea that our real beauty comes from who we are and the actions we choose to take—from how we feel about ourselves, how we connect with others, and the difference we all make as individuals.

Raw Beauty is the kind of beauty that every woman possesses. It is the kind of beauty that we need to nourish within us, for us. Raw Beauty is different for every woman because we are all different. It is what nourishes us and makes us feel good about ourselves as individuals. The foundation of Raw Beauty is based on seven basic principles.

  1. Body Nourishment: Nourish yourself with living plant foods on a daily basis for mental clarity, energy, and beauty. Move your body to increase your self-sexiness.
  2. Self-Love: Be proud of who you are. Nurture yourself and attend to your needs. Be the best woman you can be for yourself and others.
  3. Creative Expression: Create your life and honor yourself by nurturing your creativity.
  4. Joy Creation: Joy comes from choosing joy, moment by moment. Practice the art of gratitude.
  5. Elevation of Relationships & Communities: Surround yourself with women who will raise you higher and support you to create the life you want to live. And be this person for others.
  6. Living Your Passions: Be a full expression of your passions and therefore a full expression of your gifts.
  7. Purpose & Contribution: Choose your purpose and then powerfully share it with others in ways that make a difference.

We are all connected and how we feel about ourselves has a huge impact on the actions we take and on those around us. Raw Beauty is about taking actions that make us feel good about ourselves. If we are tired, overwhelmed, resentful, and stressed out, this has an impact on how we communicate and interact with others. It affects all our relationships, from work colleagues and partners to children and friendships. 

You can discover your own Raw Beauty through these 7 Principles, keeping in mind that it is a powerful form of beauty that cannot be given to us—or taken away, either.