Self-love

Self-love

“You can search through the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere, than you yourself. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.  –  Buddha on self love

What does love mean to you?

A popular saying is “Love makes the world go around” and for sure it is the most powerful force in the universe that I know of.

The bible verse Corinthians 13:4-8a describes love as;

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day of celebrating love. At Magnificent Me Magnificent You we believe the most important love is self love.

Mahatma Gandhi famously reminded the world that everything begins with the self. A statement we strongly concur with as one can only give to others that which they have within.

Before we can truly love another, we must first truly love ourselves. We must first fill up our cup that it overflows with love.

Therefore, how can we foster self love within. Most people find it very easy to exhibit positive behaviour to friends, offering words of comfort, support and uplift when needed.

Ways to foster self love

In Buddhism a primary meaning of love is friendship. From this thought a wonderful way to foster self love is to act towards your self as you would a dear friend: –

  • Accept yourself whole heartedly
  • Be kind to yourself
  • Acknowledge your gifts, start making a list of the things that you love about yourself.
  • Ask friends and family what they love about you.
  • Let go of comparison
  • Know you are enough
  • Prioritize your dreams, do things that inspire and light you up.
  • Say no to things that aren’t good for you.
  • Spend time with people who support, encourage, motivate you to be the best version of you.
  • Own your thoughts and opinions
  • Talk gently and kindly with yourself
  • Try new things
  • Nourish your mind, body and soul
  • Trust your intuition
  • Pamper yourself each day with an activity you love
  • Practice self love meditations
  • Validate yourself
  • Maintain your values, lower your standards for no one.
  • Forgive yourself when required.
  • Acknowledge the amazing miracle that you are.

With self love, kindness, compassion, joy and freedom naturally flow. We trust our inner voice and feelings. Overcoming limiting beliefs become more creative and dream bigger, our cup overflows for all living beings. Easily fulfilling the statement “Love thy neighbour as thyself”.

We hope you agree with us self love is key and choose to love the self, first.

 

Breath of Love

Breath of Love

“Stop breathe look around, and embrace the miracle of each day, the miracle of life.” – Jeffrey A White

Everything begins with the breath and ends with the breath.

In yoga we refer to the breath as prana, a Sanskrit word for life force or life energy and the art of consciously affecting or controlling our breath is known as pranayama.

Prana enters the body through breathing and is sent to every cell through the circulatory system.

As can be clearly seen the breath is critical for the sustenance of life. Flowing from this the quality of our breathing also effects the functioning of our brain and our emotions.

Once you are conscious of the important role the breath plays in our physical and mental wellbeing it makes sense to take time to do some conscious breathing exercises to give our system an extra boost and allow our minds to relax and support the creative flow of thoughts and expressions.

Here is a fun breathing exercise that engages the thoughts with the breath.

 Breath of Love

 Sit in a comfortable seated position on the floor with your hands gently resting on your knees, palms facing upwards or in a mudra position. A popular mudra is the ‘chin’ mudra, where the first finger and thumb are touching and the palms gently opening upwards. A mudra is a hand position in yoga which means “lock” or “seal”. In yogic science, each area of the hand relates to a certain area of the brain. In applying pressure to the fingers and hands, the related brain areas are stimulated. The chin mudra corresponds to the area that activates wisdom and knowledge.

Gently breathing in and out, take a moment to settle your mind and body.

You may sit with your eyes open or close, which ever feels the most comfortable. Many like to close their eyes, as it reduces distractions on the mind from one’s surrounding.

Now begin the breathing exercise.

Take a deep breath in all the way down to your stomach for a count of 3. As you are breathing in think of something or someone that you feel great love towards. Allow this feeling of love to flow through your entire body.

Hold this image in your mind’s eye for a count of 2 or 4 which ever feels comfortable.

Then gently breathe out for a count of 6 and as you breathe out imagine you are a big bright shinny beacon of love radiating love out into the world.

Repeat this breathing exercise for three to five minutes and observe how your body feels. You may feel warm energised light bright afterwards.

As can be seen from the above breathing exercise our breath plays a key role in how we feel and the health of our body, therefor as you go through your day, observe your breath and practise breathing more deeply.

Especially at times when you may be feeling anxious or nervous, taking a few deep breaths all the way down to your stomach and breath out slowly. This will help to calm your mind, body and nerves and support the creative flow of new ideas.