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The ultimate guide to waist beads and body positivity
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Waist beads are a traditional West African accessory made up of small glass, crystal, or stone beads worn around the waist or hips. In West African countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, waist beads come in all kinds of colors and symbolize femininity, fertility, sensuality, and spiritual health. We'll explore the meanings of various colors and charms and explain the cultural and spiritual significance of waist beads, below.
Things You Should Know
- Red beads symbolize confidence, vitality, bravery, or passion, while yellow beads can represent wisdom, clarity, awareness, energy, and joy.
- Gold beads symbolize good health, power, and wealth, black beads represent power and protection, and white beads represent purity, light, and truth.
- Evil eye charms protect against evil, envy, or negativity. Green aventurine represents luck, prosperity, and wealth, while rose quartz symbolizes love, compassion, and healing.
Steps
Section 4 of 4:
Choosing & Wearing Waist Beads
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1Decide where you’d like the waist beads to sit on your body. You might wear the beads high on your waist, down at your hips, right at your belly button, under your breasts, or where your abdomen curves in at the sides. Where you want your beads to hang depends on your own personal preference. [35] X Research source
- You can also wear as many strands as you like around your abdomen. [36] X Research source
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2Measure that area and pick the beads you’d like. Wrap a measuring tape or a long piece of string on bare skin around the part of your body you choose. [37] X Research source Try not to suck in your stomach or wrap the tape or string too tightly around your body—your abdomen might grow or shrink throughout the day, which might make them uncomfortable to wear.
- If you’re using a string, mark on it where the two ends meet, then measure its length with a ruler.
- If you’re wearing waist beads for weight loss, measure right below your belly button so that as you lose weight, they’ll fall and as you gain weight, they’ll stretch. [38] X Research source
- Some artists make permanent waist beads, which means the string doesn’t stretch and doesn’t have a clasp. They’re designed to stay on your body until they break or you cut them off.
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3Buy ethically sourced waist beads from an African country or African artists. People of all races and ethnicities can wear waist beads for any reason, but to avoid cultural appropriation, it’s best to purchase waist beads from a business that ethically sources them from an African country or a person of African origin. [39] X Research source Here are a few online storefronts you can buy them from:
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References
- ↑ https://www.seema.com/everything-to-know-about-the-red-root-chakra/
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- ↑ https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/detail?itemid=8869914ee9a09c1a809fac9889128096&mediatype=video&source=youtube
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- ↑ https://demandafrica.com/style/what-is-the-significance-of-yoruba-waist-beads/
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- ↑ https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/style/story/waist-beads-exquisite-adornments-tied-empowering-women-celebrating-78586233
- ↑ https://abc7.com/waist-beads-head-wraps-west-africa-african-traditions/5868276/
- ↑ https://medium.com/@latetrao/how-to-measure-for-waistbeads-f58c33a5a064
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- ↑ https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/style/story/waist-beads-exquisite-adornments-tied-empowering-women-celebrating-78586233
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