A Mindfulness Practice For Self-Love
When unexpected things happen and we go through changes, it’s easy to forget about the simple things that keep us happy.
We have all been adjusting to the social distancing measures and adapting to a changing environment. This mindfulness practice can help us reclaim a sense of peace that is accessed by overriding thoughts that are self-sabotaging.
You know, those thoughts that we may have grown up having where we compare ourselves to others, beat ourselves up about our past mistakes, or think we will continue to mess up. Those subconscious thoughts don’t lend themselves to the feelings of lightness and optimism we may be striving for, so a self-love practice will quickly get you feeling back on track.
If you’re starting this article with a vague concept of what self-love is and how to get it, by the end of this article, you’ll be equipped to face the world (and yourself) with a newfound appreciation for self-love and a calming mindfulness exercise.
Whether you find yourself in your job status, health challenges, or stress levels, you can quickly rediscover peace with this simple self-love meditation.
Looking for your own personal ritual? Find Your Self-Love Ritual, Based on Your Myers-Briggs Personality Type
The Positive Mental Effects of Self-Love
Self-love is a type of appreciation we can work on to help us value ourselves on the three levels of mind, body, and spirit.
Mentally, it helps us think critically to establish healthy boundaries. In turn, these boundaries allow us to choose jobs, people, and daily actions that will build a life of satisfaction instead of just trying to please other people.
Emotionally, self-love will help us eliminate negative self-talk that we impose on ourselves about ourselves, often without even meaning to. Self-love conquers darkness in many ways.
It helps us cultivate a relationship with our spiritual core to love who we are on a much deeper level than what we see in the mirror. This can provide us with unshakable confidence and self-acceptance.
To learn where we are not self-loving, we can use simple mindfulness techniques that allow us to observe and redirect our thoughts. A practice of mindfulness means we notice our thoughts and work on redirecting them. This allows us to create habitual ways of thinking, perceiving, and responding to our experiences in life.
Mindfulness is the secret to changing our core behaviors and making sure we are giving ourselves a recipe for success at the root of our motivational driving force. The source of our deepest-held dreams is where our mind goes to find what is significant to us and then signals our emotions to fortify this garden we have planted in our consciousness.
Ultimately, self-love can help us finally go after that dream job, find a way to accept ourselves after we make mistakes, even if it’s daily, and even help us start to shift in the smallest ways to create a lifestyle that actually makes us feel good long term.
Read this next: Self-Partnering: Taking Self-Love To The Next Level
A Mindfulness Exercise For Self-love
One of the best ways to combat the added stress of these times we are living in is using a self-love mindfulness exercise. Plus, this exercise can easily be done from anywhere!
Step 1: Breathe Deeply
Become very still physically. Sit and breathe. Breathe only through your nose, and first, just take deeper breaths than usual.
Once you’re consistently taking deep breaths, think of filling the lower lobes of your lungs first when you breathe, then the chest cavity, which expands your ribs on all sides, and finally the upper lobes of your lungs by your collar bones, so you’re full with air.
Exhale slowly and continue to inhale and exhale slowly as you start to bring more and more oxygen into the life-giving lungs in your chest. Do this for one to three minutes.
Step 2: Find Stillness
Now, begin to notice your thoughts as if you can see them coming into your head. Notice yourself thinking about your thoughts.
Now just be.
Be completely still in your mind. You are only present when you are in physical space with no thoughts.
Spend a few minutes with this. Each time you do it, you’ll remember the peace you feel when you get there, and it will get easier. Some days will be easier than others to achieve this point zero, but practice is the essential ingredient to getting you to the next step.
Step 3: Love & Acceptance
Now use this affirmation to diffuse any negative thinking patterns.
“I totally and completely accept and love myself.”
Say it in your mind slowly with all of your energy, completely engulfing your consciousness in this one task right now. Continue to say this to yourself for a few minutes.
Continue breathing deeply and slowly as you do this. Your mind will enter a different state, where you can re-shape and mold your beliefs. This is the plane of consciousness where we create our habitual thoughts that play in the background and direct our words and actions. You’re redirecting the core of your identity.
Step 4: Raise Your Frequency
The final step will seal this self-loving state into your heart, the generator of your emotional state. The heart is the largest energy center in your body, and we are going to fill it with this empowered state of mind, making a vibrational imprint.
This blueprint will send signals to your environment, channeling your energy into a higher frequency and allowing you to experience the world in a manner that is in alignment with self-love.
Step 5: Finding Your Light
Visualize yourself surrounded by loving and warm radiating light– like laying in the grass or the sand on a sunny summer day.
See yourself walking throughout your day, taking up space, not apologizing for being there.
See yourself smiling confidently, proud of who you are and what you stand for.
See yourself saying how you feel, knowing your thoughts are valid and setting clear boundaries.
See yourself glowing, radiant, and full of exuberant light. Feel the love you have for yourself bursting forth to touch the light in others and awaken them to their own light.
Step 6: Conclude & Gratitude
Breathe deeply once more before bringing this light and warmth into your conscious being.
Thank yourself for taking the time. Express gratitude that you have shown up for yourself.
Finish your practice by picking something about yourself that you love, focus on that, and make an effort to appreciate yourself.
Mindfulness in Your Self-Care Routine
It’s exciting to insert some mindfulness practices into your daily routine. When you brush your teeth in the morning, try making it a habit of saying three things you like about yourself in the mirror once your teeth are clean.
Before you even get out of bed, sit with your journal, and write an affirmation three times that will set your mind in the direction of self-love. Something like, “I choose to respect and value myself in big and small ways” can be the difference between self-love and finding yourself remolding yourself to impress others.
You don’t have to drastically alter your schedule to insert some creative, mindful moments into your day. Try simply setting your intention for the day when you sip your morning coffee. Mentally state, “I believe in myself. I fully accept myself,” as you take each sip.
This will help you create a habit of self-love that will carry through your day and attract opportunities and healthy people to you.
Related article: How To Love Yourself First: A 4-Step Guide
Self-Love Comes From Within
Keep this article handy on your desktop or phone so you can use it regularly. It will shift the way you view yourself, how you show up in the world, and the energy you carry and exude in your life.
Self-love is not just a buzzword used on a digital nomad’s blog. It’s an archetype that is being carved into the consciousness of our collective psyche, a necessary step in the evolution of our planet. So look within and look to find love that radiates beyond you.
You are loved, you are beautiful, you are valid.
Struggling with connecting to your mind, body, and soul? Here’s why mindfulness can be so difficult and what you can do about it.
