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WAIST BEADS FOR NEW POSITIVE ENERGY

  • Aug 24, 2020
  • 3 min read

WRITTEN BY: Malon Mahotiere

 

Hey Queens!

Happy Sunday. Today is the beginning of a new week. We have 4 months not including August until the year is over and I must say this year has definitely been a transforming one for me. First, I’d like to point out that it has officially been 25 years since I lost my parents. To me, this is very significant because for so many years of my life I have been struggling with a lot as a result of their loss. I also wanted to point out that even though I am extremely grateful for my life, I still experienced something very traumatic at 18 months old.


People who survive traumatizing situations should be looked at in a different light because they are not the same person that they were before that event took place. This can vary from many trauma things such as car accidents, sexual assault and abuse, childhood trauma, domestic and family violence, and abuse.


I am the woman I am today because I made healing my own responsibility. Growing up, I never understood certain things about myself or my life. I did not understand why I was not normal like the other children I grew up around. When I became an adult, things became more clear for me. As I grow older, I learn more about myself and I learn more ways to heal with all the traumatic things that I have endured throughout my life.


Before it was officially 2020, I decided I was going to use this year to heal from what happened 25 years ago. I started working on my book about my life which helped me get out some emotions that I kept bottled in. I also started listening to more self-awareness audio books like Healing Trauma by Peter Levine.


Last week I had a series of surgical procedures to help with my nose breathing. I had a severe deviated septum which was causing a blockage of airflow in my nostrils. For so many years of my life, I struggled with sleeping at night, staying up during the day, breathing during my workouts and while I sing or perform.


This surgery was supposed to be a positive life changing experience for me because this whole time I have not been breathing properly. Tomorrow, I see my surgeon for a follow up appointment and I also will see how my breathing has changed since my surgery last week. I am very excited about this and my new breathing so I decided to add a new waist bead on my body to invite new positive energy into my life before I see my doctor.


I have faith that my surgeon did everything properly and also believe this will be a new life experience for me. We don’t think about something simple as breathing through your nose having such a negative impact on life. Well the struggle has finally come to an end! I am ready for this new healthy lifestyle.


The new waist bead that I added after my surgery have the following colors to represent the following energy:


Orange for passion, creativity and sexuality


Blue for communication and openness.


Green for love, forgiveness and growth.


Red for strength, grounding and stability.


Purple for higher knowledge and spirituality


I keep you all updated as I continue my new journey of life.


Love Always,

-Malon Mahotiere


To find waist beads in all of the colors described above, please visit our website.


 

Featured Image: True Beauty Beads

Article By: Malon Mahotiere Article can be found on My African Waist Beads at the following link: http://www.myafricanwaistbeads.com/blog #waistbeads #jewelry #history #accessories #blog #women #clothing #truebeautybeads

 
 
 

REASONS WHY WOMEN WEAR WAIST BEADS

  • Aug 24, 2020
  • 2 min read

WRITTEN BY WAISTBEADSQUEEN

 
The art of wearing beaded jewelry around the waist is predominant to the African continent. Since the tradition has been passed to the current generation and adopted by western cultures, different people have varying views on why women wear waist beads. Women wear waist beads for the following reasons;

1. Beauty

Women who love showing off their beauty at the beach or pool can attest to the fact that, matching a strand of waist beads to their bikini set makes them feel confident. Waist beads are like any other beauty accessory that boosts one’s self-esteem.


 

2. Sex Appeal

Many men agree that women who wear waist beads turn them on. It is believed that the sexual appeal connected to wearing waist beads is tied to the sound the beads make during love making as well ass as a play toy during intimacy.


 

3. Weight Loss Tracking/Body Shaping

A good way to know if you are gaining or losing weight is by wearing waist beads. When you gain weight, the waist beads will become tighter and when you lose weight, the beads will be loose. Most women wear several strands “layering” for the beads to act as waist trainers.


 

4. Traditional Practices

In ancient Ghana and Nigeria, women used to wear waist beads to improve their curves. This practice is still alive and practiced on baby girls to give them shape when they hit puberty.

 

5. Protection/Charm

Waist beads have been used for protecting onself from evil eye or harm. In the olden days, women would have the beads “blessed” and once they wore they, they would be protected from various things like infidelity, witchcraft and sickness.


To see the waist beads we have to offer, please visit our website.


 

Featured Image: Exotic Body Beads


Article By: WAISTBEADSQUEEN


Article can be found on Traditional Waist Beads at the following link:

 
 
 

WAIST BEADS - THOUSANDS OF YEARS & STILL IN STYLE

  • Aug 24, 2020
  • 4 min read

WRITTEN BY - Audrey Migot-Adholla

Photograph by Akama Paul

 
As they say, everything old is new again. This phenomenon is the foundation of fashion and is especially true of waist beads, an accessory that women in Africa have been wearing for thousands of years, which have steadily gained popularity worldwide. Waist beads, sometimes known as belly beads, are strings of beads worn around a woman’s waist. While that seems simple, the reality is that waist beads are infinitely variable, and as complex and unique as the women who wear them. African women have worn waist beads for many different reasons for generations, and now women around the globe are learning about them too.


Beauty

The most obvious appeal of waist beads is their stunning aesthetic. The beads themselves are beautiful, the colours are vibrant, and the way they hang accentuates a woman’s feminine contours. They are also wonderfully diverse. They can come in any colour imaginable, different textures, shapes and sizes. Beads can be strung using just one colour or in combinations; extra embellishments like gems or crystals can be added. A single strand can hang delicately, or groups of strands can be worn in luxurious bunches. Because of natural variations in individual beads, and all the possibilities of how to combine them, no two waist bead sets will ever be the same. Each style will give a different look to the beads and to the waist they adorn, and each woman can choose the beads and styles that make her look and feel most beautiful.


Meaning

A woman’s choice of waist beads will be based on more than just looks. Waist beads have a deep and intricate significance that the wearer carries with them. Waist beads form a part of many cultures across the African continent, so there are many different interpretations for different beads. Colors, shapes and even the number of strands worn can have a variety meanings from region to region, and each set of waist beads will have personal significance to the individual wearer. These meanings and more are conveyed every time a woman sees or feels her beads around her waist. The wearer will also be reminded of her reasons for wearing the beads; how and why she chose the particular beads, and the moment she first put them on. These layers of significance are why, for many women, waist beads are the most important piece of their wardrobe.


Body Appreciation

The way waist beads make a woman feel is another facet of their appeal. The prevailing standard of beauty portrayed in the media is very Eurocentric and would have us believe that the only way to be attractive is to have a narrow waist and flat stomach (among many other very subjective criteria). This is simply not the reality for the majority of women, but because these narrow beauty “ideals” are everywhere, many of us feel dissatisfied with the way we look, around our midsections in particular. But for a woman who wears waist beads, no matter what her size or shape she will see beauty when she looks in the mirror. This is not just because the beads themselves are so pretty, but because they accentuate the natural shapes and lines of a woman, the parts that make her body feminine and beautiful – flat stomach or not. The beads can help us see that bodies which don’t conform to the current standards of beauty are still beautiful, deserving of love, and worth feeling good about.


Connection to Culture and History

Waist beads can connect the woman who wears them to something larger than herself. Although more people are learning about waist beads and they are growing in popularity in many parts of the world, to call them a trend would be to ignore thousands of years of history. Paintings in the pyramids of Egypt show women wearing waist beads, and while this is some of the earliest documentation of their existence, it’s possible that women started wearing them even earlier than that. Through millennia of changes in civilization, society and fashion, women have continued to wear and love their waist beads. For those women with African ancestry, whether they still live in Africa or are part of the Diaspora, wearing waist beads can be a way to maintain a strong connection to their culture and heritage. For women who are not of African descent, wearing the beads allows them to participate in a valuable tradition which is practiced by cultures they admire and appreciate. And for all women who wear them, the beads are a connection to history. Whether they’re ordered through the mail, passed from a mother to a daughter, or presented to an intimate partner, the tradition of wearing the beads is passed from one person to another. The mothers, grandmothers, aunties, artisans, lovers and friends who pass them on learned about waist beads from the women who came before them and so on and so on, in an unbroken string of women wearing waist beads back to our fore mothers; those who were painted on the walls of the pyramids and countless others who lived all over the African continent.


Controversy

Waist beads don’t just belong to history, but to a wide variety of living, changing cultures. As a result, there is some controversy about the right way to wear them. In some cultures, waist beads should only be seen by the woman wearing them and her sexual partner; the jewellery equivalent of underwear or other intimate apparel. The women who wear their beads in this way find it immodest that some women choose to wear their beads openly (at the beach for example) or with clothes that deliberately reveal them. However we should be conscious that not all cultures wear waist beads the same way. Ultimately, each woman decides for herself if she prefers to keep her beads private, let them peek out occasionally as she moves, or flaunt them proudly.


This diversity is what makes waist beads such a special and personal piece of a woman’s wardrobe. Much of their beauty comes from the fact that they are personal, expressive, emotional, and empowering. With all that waist beads are, it’s easy to see why there is so much renewed appreciation for this ages-old style of adornment.


To see our beautiful waist bead collection, please visit our website.

 

Featured Image: Akama Paul


Article can be found on YALA Jewelry at the following link:


 
 
 
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