READING

The Self-love Movement: How to partake and why it’...

The Self-love Movement: How to partake and why it’s a must

Being the busiest person you knew seemed like the way to live a happy, fulfilled life in the early part of this decade, but recently, we’ve seen a major cultural shift. The pull for fewer plans, a slower life, healthy habits, and more focus on ourselves began. Basically, the need for internal focus grew. Enter: The Self-love Movement.

But focusing on ourselves is a lot easier said than done, right? Self-love sounds wonderful until you worry it’s taking away time from your family, friends, and job. The thing is, self-love is crucial to being the best version of yourself, for those family members, BFFs, and your career. It lowers stress levels, provides energy, decreases cortisol levels, and leads to better sleep (among other things). It’s simply necessary to turn inwards and to treat yourself to whatever version of self-love your body and mind are craving. We must give in. And believe us, once you surrender to the self-love life, you’ll never look back.

First off, let’s talk about how to make time for it. We all have schedules to keep and places to be, but just like finding time for exercise, making time for self-love is a must. And that’s just it—we must make the time. 10 minutes of self-love is enough to reap benefits, so it’s nothing you need to clear hours of your day for. Obviously, we take as much self-love time as we have, but at the end of the day, it shouldn’t feel like a task you’re marking off your to-do list; the key is finding self-love practices that are most connected to what you need in that moment.

Here are 5 ways to incorporate self-love. Find the practices that make sense to you and do at least one of them daily:

  1. Dry brush – Stimulate your lymphatic system a.k.a. flush toxins, exfoliate skin, increase circulation, and improve the appearance of cellulite by dry brushing before your daily shower. For full instructions on how to, see here.
  2. Read alone – Grab something to read—and we suggest a non-tech version if your day job revolves around a computer or phone—, sit in silence, and get lost in the material. This is a nice break for your mind mid-day, or a relaxing practice before bed.
  3. Ground yourself – Take off your shoes and go foot-to-Earth. This can help provide a sense of calmness, decrease muscle tension, be helpful for chronic pain, improve mental clarity, and it protects your system from electromagnetic fields. Sign us up!
  4. Diffuse essential oils and relax – Choose an essential oil that you need in that moment (lavender helps to chill, citrus scents are energizing), then, simply sit back and take deep breaths.
  5. Create a nightly skincare routine – Instead of turning from TV to bed, take 10 minutes of uninterrupted time with your medicine cabinet. Cleanse your face, spritz a facial mist, apply a serum, then follow it up with moisturizer and eye cream.

See? Self-love can be as simple as you want it to be, or you can spend a whole afternoon focusing internally. The important part is getting it in whenever you can. Enjoy all the positive vibes—and lower stress levels—that come with the self-love movement.


RELATED POST