Singer and entrepreneur Ciara is the embodiment of how pure love from one's family can positively impact their self-image, especially when it comes to one's physical appearance.
The 37-year-old, who has been a part of the entertainment industry for nearly two decades, recently shared during an interview with Yahoo Life how her husband of almost seven years, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and their blended family of three children helped her love her body, regardless of its state.
In the discussion, Ciara revealed that her self-confidence in her body wavered early, like everyone else, because of the societal standards of beauty and the pressure of trying to fit in with others.
The "Level Up" vocalist added that her career in the music industry and the training she had to endure as an up-and-coming artist also played a part in her wanting to be the perfect physical representation. In 2004, Ciara first rose to fame when she released her track "Goodies" featuring Petey Pablo.
Ciara On Why She Started Taking Her Physical Health More Seriously
During that process, the "For Da Girls" songstress explained the training increased her dancing abilities and helped her understand the importance of taking care of herself by incorporating physical exercise into her daily routine.
"Movement for me is a big part of how I communicate, how I release and definitely a big way of how I express myself. I identified with dancing and movement at a very, very young age," she said. "But I've become more connected to working out as I've gotten older — having my career as an entertainer, wanting to be prepared for music videos or being prepared for the stage. All of those made me start to take working out more seriously."
Ciara On Her Husband Russell Inspiring Her To Be a Better Version of Herself
Although Ciara would go on to gain success in the music industry by releasing seven studio albums and selling millions of records, the mother of three disclosed that she didn't fully appreciate her body until meeting her husband, Russell Wilson.
The "And I" singer expressed that Russell helped shift her mindset regarding her body by loving her "curves" and celebrating them, which she says helps her give herself grace if things are imperfect.
"I give myself grace, and my honey, Russ, he loves my curves. So he celebrates that, which I love. So I don't stress as much now, I think as I would have when I was younger," she said.
Further in the interview, Ciara described another way Russell had inspired her to become a better woman was by "his level of commitment and dedication" in everything he does.
"We talked about in our earlier days being equally yoked. He and I were a lot alike from day one. So oftentimes, when we're doing things or aspiring to achieve the next goal or trying to level up our game — for him with football, and for me with music — we kind of run parallel," she shared while discussing how the pair encourage one another. "When we're working out, we're really encouraging each other, really celebrating each other, which I really love. I think he's the best at what he does and to see like his level of commitment and dedication to what he does, I get so inspired. I do feel like a better woman because of him."
Ciara On How She Wants To Be An Example For Her Three Children When It Comes to Self-Love
Another factor that positively affected Ciara's self-image was motherhood. Ciara shares two children, Sienna Wilson and Win Wilson, with Russell. The singer also has a son Future Wilburn with rapper Future.
Ciara spoke about how becoming a mother and physically carrying her children showed her the significance of maintaining one's health, especially dealing with diastasis recti after giving birth to Sienna.
According to Healthline, diastasis recti is a condition that causes an individual's abdominal muscles to separate after birth. This condition can correct itself through core strength exercises.
Ciara told the publication that she ended up loving her body's appearance, even with the condition that could leave one with a pouch appearance in the abdominal area, because she saw the "proudest achievement" she created, her three babies.
"That is like a whole different beast of something to deal with, on top of trying to lose baby weight and get to a spot where I feel really good about myself," she said. "But because of this, I look at my belly and I go, my three precious babies came out of this belly. It's my proudest achievement in life to have been able to do that. So I just have perspective on it."
Ciara wrapped up the conversation by saying this was an important lesson for her to conquer because she wants her children to know that it is good to be confident in oneself and appreciate one's "unique attributes."
"I just want to continually encourage my baby girl, especially, but all my babies to feel confident in their skin and who they are. To know that God blessed them with their amazing and unique attributes that they have and that make us who we are and it's so amazing to embrace who you are," she said.
Ciara continues to showcase positive body images by captivating millions with her viral social media posts.
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Feature image by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images
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