Self Love and Your Health.

Embarking on a healthy life journey can be daunting, but also exciting and inspiring. It’s a chance to really look at parts of your life that aren’t working so well in order to create balance and live your best life possible, feeling the best you can in your body, mind and soul.

Where health is concerned Self-love has to come first, because without it we can make no real lasting changes in our lives. When you practice self-love, you can learn to give yourself the space you need to feel your emotions, rather than choosing to blunt them with food or other unhealthy mechanisms. It empowers you to really take charge of your mind, body and soul for radiant health and wellness to be your truth. 

SO how do we practice self love in our lives?

We begin by getting really honest and really clear with ourselves. If you are starting out on a new health or weightloss journey, these questions are a wonderful place to begin:
Ask yourself:

Why am I on this healthy life journey?

How do I want to feel about myself?

How do I want to feel about my health journey?

What steps can I take to achieve my desired feelings toward myself?

What things can I do today to really love myself? Examples can be; make healthy food choices; move my body for 20 minutes; have a massage; choose herbal tea instead of coffee; breathe deeply for 5 minutes; have 5 small meals instead of 2 or 3 big ones, have a nap because I feel tired.

Think about these questions, and write down you answers in a journal. Creating clarity on why you want to make changes in your life will give you motivation and drive, and help you on the next part of the process; creating your goals. 
Carving out time to do this whole process is a way of honouring and loving yourself, so dig into these questions for goal clarity:

Why do I want to get healthy? 

Do I want to change my relationship with food?

How about my relationship with myself?

How am I planning on doing this? What adjustments do I need to make in my diet and my life?

Do I have the necessary supports in place for me to achieve my goals?

How will I be accountable?

Once you've gained clarity around your goals and desires, it's important that you surround yourself with them. Write them down! Stick them up somewhere that you will see them every single day! Set reminders in your phone, or write down the steps you're taking to move towards these goals in your daily journal writing time. 

Other ways to practice self love in your daily life include:

1. Starting a daily gratitude practice. This means  taking the time to look around in your life for wonderful things to be grateful for, and really feeling and relishing in this gratitude. This practice helps you achieve both self love and an overall satisfaction with your life.

2. Practicing daily affirmations, such as saying over and over to yourself throughout the day  ' I love and accept myself', Or 'I am worthy'.

3. Carving out 5 or 10 minutes every day just for you! You could use this time to have a nice cup of tea, or do a 10 minute meditation, or simply sit in the sun and soak up the stillness.

4. Simply making time to sit and do some deep full breathing. Not only is this loving, but it also helps you deal with daily stress and fatigue. Win win :)

Making yourself important, and building a loving relationship with yourself does wonderful things for your level of happiness, health and wellbeing! Try some of these idea's today, and if you have your own special ways of practicing self love or 'me time', please share in the comments below! We'd love to hear :)

Love and Light
Alysia Chick xx