💛 ONE STEP AT A TIME SELF LOVE 💛
In my previous post about self-love, I wrote about accepting and loving parts of yourself you don’t like.
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You can read the previous post here 👉🏼
https://www.facebook.com/595885299/posts/10161244072840300/
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This one’s about the practical things you can do to cultivate self-love ✨
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SET BOUNDARIES 🙅🏽♀️
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If you have people around you constantly needing your energy, only calling you when they are in a bad place but not listening to you when you need them, see if you actually want to be friends with this person. Tell them how you feel, “I’m noticing I’m there for you a lot, but when I need you, I feel like you’re not there for me.” This is your life. When you do so much for others, what are you doing for yourself? Listen to the guilt and say, “Thank you for sharing.” and give yourself what you need without having to earning or deserving it. You deserve it anyway without doing anything.
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TAKE A BATH & REST 🛁
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Fill up a bath, put some rose oil in it. Put an ambient chill playlist on, light some candles. Et voila, you created a sacred space for yourself to absolutely do nothing. You go further by slowing down. I used to go into overdrive and not even realise i’ve been working for 5 hours straight. Then my head would feel as if it’s going to explode and i wouldn’t know how to wind down. You’re not a machine and you’re allowed to have time where you do nothing but soak in a bath ✨
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LEARN HOW TO EAT WELL
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I’m no expert in this. But luckily I had a conscious mum who taught me how to eat well followed by a nutritionist I saw for a while. Plan your meal shopping. Do a big one for the month, then another one in 2 weeks for things like fruits, salads as they will run out in the first two weeks. Have recipes of 5-6 dishes you can make. Write down the ingredients and do your shopping according to that. Have 2-3 alternative to breakfast/lunch/dinner in case you get bored of eating the same thing like I do. Sometimes prepare your table as if you’re having guests around. You are the guest! Treat yourself like a queen/king 👑
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CONNECT WITH YOUR BODY 🏃🏽♀️
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Your body loves moving. Choose a workout or embodiment practice. Whether its running, yoga, dancing, climbing etc, stick to something 2-3 times a week even for 20 minutes and you’ll see a drastic change in how you feel and also how your body looks ✨
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HAVE SOME ALONE TIME 💛
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We live in such a busy world, in such fast pace. It can be easy to forget to spend time on your own. Take yourself out on a date, to a movie, for a dinner, for a walk in nature. You’re the person you’re going to be with for the rest of your life. Get to know yourself, what do you like? What brings you joy? And don’t rush if you don’t know your purpose. When you do what brings you joy, your purpose will become obvious with time ✨
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There is a place deep within you that knows who you are. You don’t have to look outside for things. You just have to let go of everything you’re not and turn down the volume of external sounds. This is why slowing down and being in silence is powerful. Switching from doing to being, it’s rejuvenating, healing and restoring ✨
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HAVE COMPASSION TOWARDS YOURSELF 😍
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We’re our worst enemies. Talk to yourself how you’d talk to a friend, especially when you’re feeling low, especially when you don’t feel at your best. The words you use carry powerful energy. You might not have crossed everything from your to-do list. That’s ok. You might not be where you thought you’d be by now. That’s ok. Train yourself to tell yourself, “That’s ok. I love you anyway.”
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HAVE A MORNING AND NIGHT ROUTINE ☀️🌕
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Morning routine can be as simple as making your bed and journaling for 10 minutes, writing out whatever you’re thinking in that moment. A night routine can be as simple as reading a fiction novel for 10 minutes while drinking a camomile tea. Keep it simple to start with. I’ll write a longer post about this tomorrow.
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These are action steps that are easy to do. Go into the part of you that doesn’t feel loved, a part of you you don’t accept, pushed to the side. Love that part. When you accept and love more the parts you don’t want anyone to find out, all these practicalities fall into place anyway. External actions become effortless when you shift the internal.
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Take one practice from this post, whether it’s taking a bath or moving your body, do it regularly for a week. Then come back to this post and add another. It’s overhelming to do them all at the same time in one go.
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This past November and first half of December, for the first time in my life, I slept well, ate well, did 5rhythms (movement meditation), did yoga nearly every day. I always had one or two out of balance. For the first time I nailed it. And I know I might not have this balance all the time and that’s ok.
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Ask yourself:
- Is this going to connect me more with me?
- What gives me more self-love?
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And do that. Treat yourself like you’re your own lover 😉💛
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I love you ❤️
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😘😘😘
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