I LOVE MYSELF! I know to a lot of people that probably sounds narcissistic and for sure it can be. However, when you say it from a place of authenticity after putting in the work to truly accept and love yourself for who you are, for how you treat others, and for exactly where you’re at, it has a whole different meaning and it will absolutely change your life.
Self love (per google) is defined as: regard for one’s own well-being and happiness (chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic). See, I told you it’s not narcissism if it’s from a good place. We have become so hypercritical and I am guilty of it as well, trust me. We are bombarded by “perfect” social media posts, our families and friends asking about this and that, the constant urge to be there fully for others in turn leaving ourselves in the dust. Whatever your “thing” is I promise you are not alone. We have all struggled with it at one point or another and for those of us who have started to love ourselves, I hope you can turn around and share your strategies with others! Here are 5 ways to practice self love every single day of your beautiful dang life!
Wake Up and Smile BIG
It sounds so silly and simple but when we smile we are actually sending signals to our brain to release these little guys who fight off stress, how cool is that?! Genuinely smiling when we wake up can set the tone for the whole day not to mention you woke up another day, hello??? Is that not enough to smile about already!
Give Yourself a Smooch
Okay you got me, this one sounds silly as well, but it’s INCREDIBLE! We started doing this in my yoga practice after a nice spinal twist and I was going through some stuff, immediately when I kissed myself on the shoulder I started bawling my eyes out. It is such a simple yet beautiful way to remind yourself that you are worthy, you are enough, and you are beautiful. I like to kiss myself on each shoulder personally but whatever is accessible and feels good for you, go for it baby!
Be Fully Present
We all have our morning routines that we are almost on autopilot for. Wake up, make coffee, get ready, pet animals, whatever else. When you wake up tomorrow and if your morning allows (I’m fully aware not everyone has this luxury but try to at least be present for one part) try to notice what you are doing. Feel your feet touch the ground when you get out of bed and thank the earth for another day. Experience your morning coffee with all 5 senses, smell it brewing, hear the sound of it dripping into the carafe, watch the milk swirl into your mug, feel the beautiful warmth it gives off and of course taste that life giving juice (lol).
Incorporate an Enjoyable Movement Practice
Whether you like to do yoga, walking, working out, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, pilates, whatever your movement of choice is, do it! Every single day move your body in a way that you love even if it’s just for 10 minutes. All of these movement practices can be so stress relieving and make us feel so incredible not to mention that it is just another way to tell yourself that you are worthy of enjoying life. Doing something that you love to do every day ensures that you are putting yourself first and showing yourself the best kind of love possible.
Romanticize your Days
This is more so something I do in the evenings because I LOVE lighting candles in the house. I prefer to stray away from harsh lights, I hate when my house is super bright so lighting a few candles and putting on my dark blue neon lights is my go to every single day. There is no set path for this or any of these practices for that matter so do whatever makes YOU feel good! I like to light my candles, maybe take a bath, watch a show I love or listen to a nice podcast or some LoFi music but there is one thing I make sure to do. I make sure to look into the mirror and tell myself how beautiful I am and how much I love myself. This might feel weird your first couple times doing it but it will get easier over time as you start accepting it more. Tell your body how much you appreciate it for everything it does for you on a daily basis, for carrying you through another day and for being so strong and beautiful. 🙂
Like I said, there is not right or wrong way to practice any of these, you can adapt your own practices and I would absolutely love to hear about them! I feel like these are very basic daily practices that are pretty easy to implement into everyone’s life no matter what your life looks like. Every body deserves to feel valued, loved, respected, and worthy and that all starts with you, you’ve got this my loves!
