February always feels like the month to really focus in on self-love. I am not sure if it is because Valentine's Day falls right in the middle of the month or that its America Heart Month & Go Red campaign for the American Heart Association. But, it is always the month I really like to look at this theme of self-love. I know I hear it all the time, love yourself first. #selflove
But, what does that really mean?
For me, self-love is taking care of myself. Its movement, eating nourishing foods, getting those doctor's appointments in. It's truly listening to my body. It's knowing when something doesn't feel right in my body, and trying to find out what that is. This month I started getting some ion foot detoxes done. I am booking an energy healing, and scheduling my yearly mammogram. I am doing online yoga with my teacher and dancing. I am dancing around the house alot because its too cold for walks outside. There is always the treadmill, but dancing is really fun way to move my body.
Self-love also means working on my spiritual practice. For me, that means reading deeply into my Bible, attending in person or online-church, prayer, & meditation. These are all so good for my soul. Self-love is also doing the things I really love which is pampering. I booked a little get away for my husband and I in a few weeks. It also means all the pampering things I love; facials, manicures, massages, and more. Sometimes it may mean going to a spa for these amazing services, and sometimes its home pampering. But, this kind of pampering, for me shows myself love. It makes me feel good.
Self-love is also setting boundaries. This is something that took me a really long time to understand. Setting boundaries on how much social media to consume & how much tv media to consume is really important to me. I have unfollowed and muted several people simply because the things they share on their social media gets me fired up and upset. It is not worth feeling low about. Everyone has the right to share what they want on their own social media pages, and I have the right to set a boundary to not read it. Setting boundaries on how quickly I reply to texts, phone calls, ane emails. I receive lots of both, and I can not always answer everything as quickly as I would like, and that is ok. I need to love myself enough to know that I need my personal space. It also means I say NO, to things that don't align with my values or time. I am loving this freedom.
Self-love for me is also sharing love. You see the better I feel about myself the more I can share with those I love and my community.
