5 Ways to Practice Self-Love

I've been hearing about this thing called Self Love for years and to be honest it seemed like a bit of a mystery to me. In hindsight, this makes total sense because in reality I was really just stuck in a battle with my inner critic. My Mom always said for years that it was important to love myself but what in fact did that mean. I found it easy to love others and my kids and experiences but love myself? I understood the concept but putting it into practice was a different story. Then recently I was listening to a podcast and I think it was https://www.instagram.com/adam.roa/ Adam Roa that defined self-love as; "the end result of the relationship you have with yourself". 

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We are the creators of our reality and it starts with remembering we are the creators of ourselves" ~ Adam Roa

Adam went on to say that self-love is also the result of the actions that we consistently take for ourselves. When I heard him share this, a light bulb went off in my head. I realized that I actually had a self-love practice and how I was feeling was a sense of loving myself more. I realized that this massive out there concept actually became attainable. To be clear if you grew up with an absence of receiving love in the way you needed it can be a massive mountain to climb. So this post is about sharing 5 Ways to Practice Self Love and my thoughts about each practice. I will also add, that what we do over and over again every day, becomes our practice and creates long-lasting results and has such a positive impact in our lives. 

1) Meditation ~ Meditation is a broad topic and I feel like the most important thing here is to find a way of meditation that works for you. Whether its guide, silent or a walking meditation if it "feels" right to you that is the most important thing. A couple of years ago some suggested the idea of R.P.M. as an acronym for Rise Pee and Meditate which is a practice that has really worked for me. I trust you will find what works for you and then repeat this every day for an amount of time that feels doable. I believe that 10 minutes of anything is better than 0 minutes!

2) Journaling ~ This is a great way to get our mental energy out of our heads and onto paper. I have found journaling to be a very grounding and supportive practice. I have also found it an interesting practice to look back at my journals and reflect on where I was at and what I was processing at different times. My journals have also been a great source of wisdom. I do find that the voice of our higher self comes through when journalling. As with meditation find a way of journaling that works for you. You may choose to use a pen & paper or digital methods. Any method that works for you is perfect.

3) Movement ~ Any kind of movement that gets you into your body is perfect. Walking, hiking, biking, dancing, yoga, and sports all get us out of our minds, out of our house and into embodiment. When we connect with our bodies we deepen our connection with ourselves. It is important to find a movement practice that is easy and accessible and feels good for you to engage in and repeat often.

4) Spending Time in Nature ~ Depending on where you live this can be. easy or challenging. On the West Coast, we are blessed with so many opportunities to engage with nature. However, at different times of year and in different parts of the world nature can be more challenging to access. It is very important to note that we are wired to be connected with nature and the earth and the elemental energies, it is literally in our DNA. Nature is also a very good teacher of the cycles we experience in our lives as well as the metaphoric reflections of our lived experiences.

5) Creativity ~ For many, creativity lives in the shadows. We judge that we aren't creative or long to explore a way to become creative. I discovered that creativity can take many different forms and that I was being creative and didn't realize it. An example of this is that I would simply take pictures using my phone while I was walking in nature. (Yup that's right this took care of 3 of the five ways) I didn't realize that these photos were creative until I started sharing them on social media and started getting feedback from others. Redefine your definition of creativity and you will likely find you are already moving the dial on this one. 

If all of this is new to you, I recommend starting small and then building upon your experience one brick and one action at a time. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences. You can follow me and share your stories on my Instagram ​https://www.instagram.com/reclaimyourwholeness/

Invent your world. Surround yourself with people, colours, sounds and work that nourish your soul” ~ Sark