DARE TO SELF CARE

How many times have you heard the following?

“Put on your own oxygen mask first, before you help others.”

As we celebrate the Month of Love at Kua Body, one common theme we have noticed in our clients is the natural tendency to want to help and give love to others while ignoring his or her own needs. So many of us are programmed to constantly be taking care of others, also a form of co-dependency. Now, let’s be clear: there is something truly noble and good about wanting to help someone else. The problem arises when we become complacent in ignoring our own wants, needs, and desires. When we become okay with not being okay.

We find excuses and ignore our needs or feel uncomfortable investing in our mind, body and spirit as a priority because that can often feel too selfish.  Deep down we all know that we can’t fully love those around us or give them what they need if we don’t love ourselves first.

What does it mean to love yourself?

This Valentine’s Day, consider putting your energy into the relationship that you have with yourself. It’s magical how when we start valuing ourselves fully, the people in our lives naturally start to show up in a different way by also recognizing our worth. No matter how much you may want to do for others, it means nothing if you don’t prioritize yourself. We sat down together as a team of massage therapists and came up with our favorite self-love pieces of advice that we have had to learn over the years.  Here are Kua Body’s top five tips for nurturing your self-love practice.

Follow @kuabody for more inspirational Self-Care tips!

1.  TUNE INTO YOURSELF

Our therapists Jennifer and Annette both agreed that taking time to to do a daily self check up is crucial to their well being. Jennifer chooses to take “me time” every week to check in with all aspects of her emotional and spiritual health – from checking in with how she feels in relationships to check into her finances. This is her quiet time to reassess and evaluate what she needs. Annette takes time to quiet her mind and reflect inwardly on how she is feeling emotionally. She suggests acknowledging any feelings that come up, and respecting them.  Let go of numbing your feelings. Shopping, eating, and drinking are examples of avoiding discomfort, sadness, and pain. Mindfully breathe your way through your feelings and emotions. For example, if your body is telling you that you are tired and exhausted, respect your body’s response and rest instead of pushing through to the next task.  

2. MEDITATE

Our therapist Lucy is a huge fan of daily meditation. Self-care practices like meditation go hand-in-hand with nourishing our bodies and our lives. Just five minutes of meditation a day will help you reduce stress and increase inner calmness so that you can live your happiest and healthiest life. Sitting alone with ourselves for even a few minutes each day engenders a special kind of compassion for ourselves and others.

3. DAILY ACTS OF SELF LOVE

Each day, challenge yourself to do something that will cheer you up, make you feel special, and is solely for you. Enjoy nature and go on your favorite hike.  Enjoy in the highest quality dessert your love with no guilt. Try a new modality of massage from Kua Body like Shiatsu or Craniosacral Therapy. Go out with your friends and treat yourselves to dinner and drinks with lots of laughs. Whatever it is, let go of all guilt and shame around rewarding yourself. Embrace what it feels like to fill your cup up

4. INDULGE YOUR PASSIONS

Expand your interests. Too many of us are so immersed in our jobs, kids, families and events to think about indulging our creative side and nurturing our passions. Try taking a class in something you have always wanted to try or join a meetup group, based on your interest, with like-minded souls. Try something new. Learn a language. Go places you’ve never been.

5. FORGIVE YOURSELF

Learn from your mistakes and go forward. Unconditional self-love comes from embracing your darkness as well as your light. That means your fears, your worries, your doubts, your body shape, yes, even the things that disappoint you about yourself. They may make you feel uncomfortable, but they are part of you. We can acknowledge all parts of ourselves and start to gently tweak the pattern of thoughts that come up.

Make this Valentine’s Day a day to love yourself unconditionally. Show the ultimate love for yourself by prioritizing yourself first and creating the life of your dreams. When you stop putting your life on hold, you start to feel happy and lovable, and can pass that energy on to your family, significant other, children, work, community and planet.