The term self love has been exploding on my Instagram feed. This could be because my feed is filled with yoga lovers and positive vibes (weed out the negative shit). Even though I am starting to feel like the idea is being overplayed, I am still 100% behind spreading the message of placing your health and wellbeing above all else. That's all self love is. It's the practice of showing yourself love and doing yourself no harm. It is an act of service. When you take care of yourself you have the best chance of serving and positively impacting others. In order to meet the requirements for proper self love you must put forth effort in improving your mind, body and soul.

This is not a simple task. This is by design. If it was simple it wouldn't be as rewarding and feel so good. If you could see the amazing view from the bottom of the mountain, would you climb to the top for the exact same view? If you have to put in some work to see that view, a sense of accomplishment and "self love" is also enjoyed as you soak in the view, giving you a boost of motivation to tell others about your climb and then climb a different mountain.

Self love, self care, self respect, whatever you want to call this, call it Fred for all I care, does not have to be grand. Simple and accessible is always better to have on hand for emergencies, such as a traffic jam when you're already late and a no smoking sign on your cigarette break. Wait... if I've never said this before, smoking is bad. Alanis is good.

Essential Oils - Peppermint, Lavender, Chill Pill, Rosemary (Rosemary is amazing!!!!!)
Herbal Tea
Whole Foods pit stop - Kombucha, Dark Chocolate, Dates, a new Oil
Meditation
Book Break
Dance Break
Sing Along
Duolingo - Learn a language app
Daily Reflections type book
Quick yoga video or workout
Bubble Bath
Brisk walk
Dog snuggles
Chat with a bestie
Making a healthy meal
Jump in water!
Three deep breaths.

These are some of my favorite instant mood changers for my mind, body and soul. And like I said these are so crucial in achieving true wellness BUT I also think there is a place for more "luxurious" things to be apart of your daily self love journey and they should be guilt free. Such things as massage, acupuncture, therapy, spa treatments, yoga retreats, trips to quiet places, trips to places where you have to use a foreign language, workshops and continued education. For so long these things were on my, "One Day" list, as in one day ill have enough money to maybe afford some of those things. This is where I went wrong.

By treating such acts as getting a massage and booking a vacation as mere luxuries that I will maybe have one day, they became just that. I recently heard a Home Podcast episode with a yoga teacher by the name of Elena Brower where she explained that these luxurious things are what enable her to be the best yoga teacher she can be. They are not luxuries, they are necessities. You know when you feel like you've heard something for the first time, even though you know it's been told to you 100 times? It clicked. The lack mentality of one day getting something I wanted was actually getting me no where. I am going to start finding ways to include these necessary activities into my schedule. Now, this will have to be done in sneaky, coupon-y ways and involve cutting back on some other UN-necessary activities. That is fine by me. You know why? Cause I just had a massage and I feel fabulous.