6 WAYS TO BEGIN IMPLEMENTING SELF-LOVE

‘Love yourself’ is a common phrase these days, but what does it really mean?

As we try to better our lives and love ourselves more, we sometimes end up doing things that are detrimental to our well being because we are forcing something that might be loving for someone else, but not for us. A lot of media portrays ‘loving yourself’ as working out at a gym two hours a day, cutting sugar and carbohydrates out of your diet, or something of this sort. But the thing is, loving yourself is going to be different for everyone and what brings your best friend joy could leave you full of boredom.

So what if you don’t have two hours to spend every day at the gym because when you’re not at work you’re cooking or cleaning? What if when you do spend two hours at the gym you’re frowning the whole time? Does that mean you don’t love yourself? Of course not.

What if you need to bake cupcakes for your daughter’s school party and you happily oblige when she asks to split one with you. Does eating that sugar mean you don’t love yourself? Of course not. What if you do have two hours to spend at the gym and you like how your body feels without sugar? Then you have found a great way to love yourself!

Loving yourself is honoring who you are and what brings you joy. If what you are doing leaves you at peace and your actions radiate kindness then you are being very loving to yourself and therefore to others.

If you need some ideas in the ‘love yourself category,’ here are some ways you can honor yourself:

1. Take an Epsom Salt Bath

Taking time in the evening for a bath is very beneficial. It gives you at least 15 minutes of alone time to relax and reboot. Plus, using Epsom salts aids in stress-relieving. When Epsom salt dissolve in warm water, it is then absorbed through the skin and replenishes the level of magnesium in the body. When you are stressed the body is drained of magnesium and adrenaline increases so the magnesium in the salts helps to produce create a sense of calm and relaxation. Bring whatever else you’d like when taking this bath, maybe candles, music, a book, or a glass of your favorite beverage. In just 15 minutes you could feel rejuvenated.

2. Try the Hobby You’ve Always Thought About

Are you wondering what it would be like to paint on a canvas? Have you stopped to look at that road bike every time you walk past the bike shop? Do you dream about writing a book or learning to play the guitar? Head over to the art supply store, go into the bike shop, get out your pad and paper, or buy a cheap guitar. Allow yourself to fool around, to dabble, you don’t need to be Tony Hawk to use a skateboard or Martha Stewart to try your hand at a flour-less chocolate cake.

3. Make a Cup of Tea or Coffee at Home

Do you enjoy a certain drink in the mornings or the evenings? A drink that you usually go out and buy even if you can make it at home? Give yourself a little more time before you go to work or before you get into bed and make yourself a warm drink. This is a simple action that can bring a sense of stillness, similar to the bath, where you can sit and be in the moment as you sip on your coffee or tea. If your living with roommates or loved ones (the kids would probably love a hot cocoa), then it could even be time for a connected coffee conversation or a moment of blissful silence together (even if the silence only lasts as long as their first sip).

4. Assign and/or Cut Down ‘TV Time’

Allow for only an hour or two for TV or movie watching, this keeps you from watching the shows you aren’t actually interested in watching, but are anyway just because the TV is on. Plus, setting boundaries makes a movie night more of a privilege and having it off until the allotted ‘TV time’ gives you space to try out the new hobbies in #2 or start making the drinks in #3.

5. Choose an Exercise of Your Choice

So a reason working out is almost always mentioned in ways to love yourself is because moving your body really does have awesome benefits. Getting some exercise promotes better sleep, improves mood, boosts energy, and keeps your heart and body healthier. You don’t need to be running on the treadmill for an hour if you don’t like it. Maybe you can combine your new hobby with your exercise like a pair of roller blades or some sidewalk chalk for repeated rounds of hopscotch. Whatever gets your heart pumping and also brings you joy, do that.

6. Watch the Sunrise and/or Sunset

Making time to get out into nature is necessary for our well-being. If you were told to ‘go play outside’ when you were growing up there’s a good reason for it. Being in nature, like gazing at the horizon or walking barefoot in the grass, activates parts of the brain associated with balance and happiness. Communing with nature keeps you grounded on the earth and gives you a chance to soak in the beauty that surrounds us.

Try any of these self-loving actions or find some of your own, either way, honor yourself because you deserve it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michele Miller is a writer for The Open Mind.

Read more at http://www.the-open-mind.com/6-ways-to-begin-implementing-self-love/#3YSHRbaZfZ0uB1AR.99