When we think of love we almost always think of it in terms of relationship, as in someone other than ourselves. When we are with other people it can seem effortless to share our love and in so doing we are happy in that moment. So what happens then when you are alone? Are you still feeling that love? Are you able to access the happiness? The term self-care has become a new hot buzz word in the healthcare industry. So now we have a word we can throw at other people in order to claim something we should inherently have a right to anyway. We should not have to ask permission or push ourselves to collapse martyring into exhaustion. Self-care is self-love. Sri Swami Satchidananda, founder and spiritual leader of Integral Yoga says, ” Love everyone and everything. By loving everything you are really loving yourself. If you stand in front of a mirror, you love that reflection. You smile at it and it smiles at you.” So the origin of self-love is found in realizing all we love is simply a mirror of ourselves. Hard truth, if others are not loving you well, you are not loving them well. If others are not caring for you well, you are not caring for yourself well. Giving my grown adult daughter a bath when she had the flu was absolutely an act of love and care. In that moment we both were happy in our shared awareness of that offering and emotional response that came from it. As I felt my hands soapy in her hair, I recalled my own mother’s hands in my hair as a child. So then, why should I not wash my own hair in the same way? Cooking a meal for one or two people is no different for me then when I cook for 30 or more people at yoga camp. The offering of love and care is the same. Single people especially, set that table for two because one day you just might have company. During my annual winter women’s retreat everyone let go of their devices and time. I was then the designated time keeper and I cannot tell you how many times I looked to see what time it was and found we had any extra 15 minutes or even one time 45 minutes! Let go of that sad worn out excuse “I don’t have time!” You have more time than you realize. Instead of lying in bed at night scrolling through social media, give your partner a back massage or soak in a bubble bath while listening to an inspiring Podcast like Mothering Myself by Susan Kinahan (fabulous friend of mine here in Richmond). Point is, there is time for you to give yourself this attention, and as you love yourself just the way you are, you naturally are practicing self-care. As your own heart and spirit are fulfilled, so you are able to more easily love and care for everyone around you. Are you feeling the love now? I hope so, because as you are reading these words, I am sending you love.
Join me for the Feng Shui of Love Workshop – whether in a relationship or looking for one, let’s look at turning your bedroom into an oasis of love and ensure the rest of your home is supporting a vibrant relationship in your life. True North Yoga Sunday February 9th 3:00 – 5:00 $30