Cultivating Self Love Through Yoga
The relationship you have with yourself is the closest and most intimate one you will ever have. To love and accept your body, though, can seem downright difficult if you’re like most people totally and honestly.
Have you ever made a negative statement regarding your weight? rebuffed a compliment and then followed it up with a snide jab? Have you ever been upset with the way you look or cursed the extra inch around your middle? It's all right, sweetheart. We all do and have. However, I want you to know that you are no longer required to do that.
You can and will love your body this year.
I suggest that we all change: What if this year, instead of starting the New Year from a place of scarcity or fear, we started it from a place of acceptance and love? What if we sought to be at ease in our own flesh rather than attempting to reach a certain weight on a scale? What if we choose to live in a specific manner instead of attempting to appear a certain way? What if we adopted the motto "New Year, Same Amazing, Unique, Exceptionally Beautiful Me" this year rather than "New Year, New Me"?
To begin the process, we must change the critical lens through which we currently view ourselves to one of love. Do you remember the adage, "Treat others as you would want to be treated?" I suggest we consider it this way instead: "Do unto yourself as you would do to others." Let this be the driving force behind how we view our bodies and let's start treating each other as family, lovers, and best friends.
I've smacked myself in the face before because I'm annoyed by my body. I would never treat a child in that way. Even though I wouldn't dare say that to someone I love, I have yelled "I hate you" at myself in the mirror. I put my life in danger to gain five more pounds. I never placed a friend in jeopardy like that. What if we valued ourselves just as much as we valued the people in our lives? Or how about this crazy idea: What if we learned to love ourselves more?
We have the most comprehensive toolkit as yogis to effect these shifts. We have resources that can help us stay in the now, understand reality, and change our negative self-talk to body-affirming thoughts. We have resources to enable us to enter a strong, vast, and already ideal location inside.
How to Cultivate Self-Love through Yoga
Yoga is an opportunity to establish a deeper connection with your true self through an inward journey of self-discovery. In essence, it's about learning to love and respect your body as the temple that holds your conscious spirit. Yoga is a lovely practice for those who struggle with low self-esteem, anxiety, or depression because it offers a gentle, comprehensive approach to resolving these feelings from the inside out.
SELF-LOVE HEALING
Through yoga, you can concentrate your thoughts and feelings to discover a kinder, more forgiving approach to feeling at ease in your own skin. Yoga provides a conscious time during the day when you may appreciate being who you are and compassionately express self-care. Yoga also creates space for profound internal healing.
Of course, it may take more than one yoga session to fully release the various levels of subliminal critical self-talk. On the mat, being light-hearted and accepting of who you are is a terrific way to bring in the ego-defeating warmth of humor. The good news is that your sense of self-love will increase and start to naturally influence how you view yourself the more often you can bring yourself to the mat with a loving acceptance of who you are.
INTENTION
What we can experience from each activity or encounter is significantly influenced by the intention we bring to it and the consciousness we bring to it. Therefore, it's crucial to think of your yoga practice as a place where you may take care of yourself and revere your body as a temple. If you use yoga as an hour-long workout to burn as many calories as possible and treat a super yogi posture as the pinnacle of your practice, this cannot happen.
YOU ARE COMPLETE.
Yoga helps you recognize that you already have everything you need inside of you, which encourages self-love and self-care. You are encouraged to embrace and adore who you are on an essential level rather than a surface level the more you engage in traditional yoga practice. Yoga teaches you to embrace your individuality and let go of the conflict that results from comparing yourself to other people. The ideal place to begin the practice of letting go of comparison with others is on your yoga mat. Similar to everyday life, your yoga class can be a
the location where it's simple to get side-tracked by what other people are doing and where the mind may want to escape from any unsettling feelings and sensations that may arise.
It's a great habit to try to practice for the majority of the time with your eyes closed or partially closed to combat this. By closing the eyes and deliberately practicing entering the sensation or emotion that arises in each pose rather than allowing the mind to flee from it. The next step is to deliberately enter the emotion that your mind is trying to push away and to breathe lovingly through it. The majority of people discover that if you are not physically pushing things, your breath and focus will shift the congealed energy and emotion, and when they naturally ease off on the other side, you will have a sense of serenity and release.
See yoga as an ever-evolving journey of self-awareness and self-care rather than something you set out to accomplish. There is a sort of yoga that will help you no matter where you are in your day or life. Yin or restorative sessions can help you be nurtured back to balance and calm when you are worried or depressed. It can also help you channel your energy into strength and power when you are feeling energized.
Similar to any practice, you will notice changes in your thoughts, emotions, and body as you devote more time to bringing yourself mindfully to your mat. Your physical body will start to feel stronger and more flexible, your mind will begin to think more clearly, you'll experience more peace and joy every day, and most importantly, you'll start to feel a very grounded sense of acceptance of yourself, rooted in the knowledge that you are the love you've been looking for.
Love Yourself First, Then Love Others
You'll come to understand that the most crucial relationship you'll ever have is the one you have with yourself. It serves as the bedrock upon which all of your other relationships are built. In light of this, prioritizing your needs over those of others is not being selfish since, when you love and care for yourself, you have more love to give to others. By doing this, you move from a little place of needing to be loved due to an incorrect impression of lack to an empowered space of embodying love.
Make loving yourself a daily priority; otherwise, you risk reverting to previous harmful behaviors like self-doubt and criticism. Bring this purpose to every yoga session as a sacred space for you to center yourself in a moving meditation of self-acceptance and self-compassion. Self-love is like a muscle that you need to strengthen.
“One must be compassionate to one’s self before external compassion.” Dalai Lama
Find Your Life's Highest Purpose
We often question what our life's purpose is, but the truth is that it rarely involves working. We are all starting to practice self-love. Your greatest calling in life is to be a living example of love, to extend love and acceptance to others, and to help them live from a position of self-love and selfless service. Living in a place of love will make life so much more pleasant and rich, and it all begins with loving yourself. You'll be surprised at how much more meaningful and transforming your yoga practice will be both in class and in your daily life if you practice the next time, you lay down on your yoga mat with the aim of loving yourself.
Greetings to all of you incredible yoga goddesses on your journey toward your true selves.