Self Love
Hi, Thinking out loud here.
Welcome to Mindful Monday Week 8
I am starting these blogs different from now on. I will be putting a link for a playlist at the beginning of each blog which will hopefully go along with what I have written. It will be primarily instrumental, but some other songs may occasionally be mixed in. Here is the link https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZgkXgf7jXMIBNI8tETxst?si=d25c5d8d379b4269
Get a drink, maybe even a snack, and find a comfy seat so you can relax. Let all worries go for the next little while; get ready for five deep breaths. If you have any problems with breathing, please take an extra mindful moment here. For those joining me in the breathing exercise, breathe out.
Now time for your first deep breath; take in one deep breath through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. breath out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. Hold for 1.. Breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out through for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. Breathe in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. two more to go; breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. last one deep breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. And out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. now go back to your regular breathing pattern. I hope you feel calm and relaxed.
Today is all about giving ourselves some self-love, we do so much for others that sometimes we forget about ourselves. It’s so easy to say, I’ll take the time for me tomorrow, but tomorrow always comes, and we don’t take the time out for ourselves. We get busy for one reason or another, and then the time we could have had is gone. So today, if you take anything away from this blog post, let it be this, take five minutes out of today to do something you love that is purely just for you and no one else. If it ends up being longer, that is even better; I say five minutes because that's more realistic than saying an hour out of your day, as I know many people don’t have that long to spare.
For the next few minutes, I want you to try not to think about what needs to be done today; I know it’s hard, but really try to let those things go for now; they will still be there when you have read this blog and had your five minutes. Let this time be your time, breath in love and breath out love, give yourself a massage on your feet or your hands, they do a lot for you during the day, they take a lot of weight and stress, maybe if you can massage your neck gently and the tops of your shoulders. Be slow and gentle; this time is for you. No need to rush; let the music play and guide you as you do for yourself what you do daily for others. Be kind to yourself as you are to others, not just today but every day.
At some point today, write yourself a letter, make it separate from your five minutes, with pen and paper; don’t do it on your phone or any other device you have. Write down your name, your age, and maybe what you do daily, though this isn’t important. Write all the things you love about yourself, only kind words, maybe what you like physically, parts of your body that you love, what makes you feel good? What do you like doing but don’t do nearly have as much as you should? What makes you happy? I mean truly happy, the kind of happiness that you don’t ever want to lose because nothing will ever compare to it when you feel it. What keeps you passionate? What is your biggest dream that when you think about it you get the biggest smile and a little bit scared of the idea? But don’t let that stop you from doing that dream.
Date your letter with today's date and this year, then in a year come back to your letter and read it, see if anything has changed. You could maybe then write another letter to yourself saying what you changed and how you felt about those changes or if things have stayed the same and how you feel about that. I hope this leaves you feeling more loved by yourself and not just by those around you.
Let's finish with a three-deep breath breather.
Take one deep breath in through your nose for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. breath out through your mouth for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1.. breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. and out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. final breath in for five 1..2..3..4..5.. hold for 1..2.. last breath out for five 1..2..3..4..5.. no hold here you can now go back to your regular breathing pattern.
As always, thank you for reading this blog post. I hope you have fun finding your self-love today but remember it doesn’t have to be just today, every day can be a self-love day.
Love always Thinking out loud xx:D
After I had finished writing this blog post, I read a quote that I think is perfect; I would like to share it with you here before you go. ‘When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another- and ourselves.’ By Jack Kornfield. I want you to focus today on the last few words ‘we lose connection with ourselves,’ don’t lose the connection with yourself or who you are, that is so important with being able to not only self-love but to keep being present and being there for others when they need us or equally when we need them.
