I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with the amazingly talented Lindsay since earlier this year. Over the course of this year we have been so lucky to have met some gorgeous souls. Real women with zero modeling experience and beautiful stories to tell.

In the short time that I’ve worked in Lindsay’s boudoir studio I’ve had a lot of firsts-and I feel very blessed because of it. I had NO idea before working in a boudoir studio just how healing a session really is.

I’ve met women who are, for the first time, discovering themselves. Or perhaps re-discovering themselves.

I’ve met women who have found a sense of peace for the first time in their lives. At 30, 40, or 50 years old.

I’ve met women who have had children and need to be reminded they’ve still got it. By “still got it” I mean “I’m still a woman, I’m still desirable and I’m still sexually ALIVE and well.”

Having gone through a horrible divorce myself and being a mother, a working woman, and having to clean and function and not look crazy- AND also look beautiful and also be a good mom, I KNOW how quickly the sexy title can be completely stripped on both the inside and out.

Sexy doesn’t have to be showing your body in any capacity.

Confidence is sexy. Self assurance is sexy. Knowing who you are is sexy.

Showing up for your damn self is sexy. Far sexier than any piece of lingerie you’ll ever put on.

Trauma, heartache and abuse can strip a woman of all these amazing traits. I don’t think most people know that abuse comes in a million forms. It can be physical, emotional, psychological, mental, financial and on and on and on. Each of these breaks off pieces of who we are in order to cope or try to become who our abuser wants us to be. Then comes the big break! We leave and discover ourselves again. We slowly rebuild.

During my time in Lindsay’s studio I have met some of the STRONGEST women I’ve ever met in my life. Women who have experienced traumatic relationships, death of a spouse, death of a child, cancer battles, war, addiction, divorce, extreme weight loss, self-hatred, loss of identity, and the list goes on. I can’t even count how many times I’ve had to choke back tears because of some of the stories that have been shared with us in the studio.

My tears are not always sad tears though. My tears are also of excitement for these beautiful women as they embrace their story-however painful it might have been or still is for them.  I’m always inspired by these women- through it all they still choose to SHOW UP for themselves, peeling back the layers and moving through fear into an experience that will help them heal.

Through boudoir, women learn to love and appreciate their bodies as the vessels that have carried their drop dead gorgeous souls through it all.

My tears are tears of joy for the beauty of self-discovery and healing. Boudoir sessions in Lindsay’s studio are so much more than 2 hours of sexy photo time- they are, for a lot of women, the experience of a lifetime. They are a chance for women to share their stories, open their hearts, and transform.

We’d love to hear YOUR story. Please share with us in the comments or drop us a love note HERE.