Self-love, self-respect, self-worth: There’s a reason they all start with ‘self.’ You can’t find them in anyone else.” ~Unknown
Loving yourself is so much harder than what the words imply. I have been struggling with it myself. Fairly recently when Ms. Crystal Belcher was at the studio teaching workshops, a friend and I were catching up after the workshops, she is coming back after major surgery and I am battling various obstacles life throws from time to time. While we were chatting to with each other I believe we were having an internal dialogue with ourselves too and were realizing how hard we were being on ourselves. That interaction made me realize that self love is not one and done, it is a process that needs consistency. At the studio we value self confidence, Self-confidence is about trusting yourself and your abilities for example of hanging upside down, or baking perfection. Self-esteem, on the other hand, is about how we see ourselves. It’s about our perception of our worth. No matter what happens on the outside, do you treat yourself with love, care, and respect or not?
This realization that been coming in small doses over the years, when I left a kickass corporate job to be a mom and wife, taking on a new country new culture and a language that I was fluent in yet it was foreign. As a high achiever it is very easy to mask the issue of self esteem. Learning the art of self love is a work in progress and I believe it will always be.
Lets practice self love ❤️ 💖 💗
Be someone who loves.
This is hard, no question about it. It will take practice just like when we learn how to invert, from pole inversions to silk inversion, it is the consistency of practice, understanding how your muscles work. Similarly the practice of self love will take consistent practice. Try to be someone who loves, allow love to flow through yourself as often as possible, If you take aerial Yoga class with me and have practiced the flow of love ; ) you know how to practice it, for others where have you been (hahaha) all jokes aside, really practice the flow of love think of anything or anyone that made you feel love and place it in your heart, be open to all the feelings it invokes in you. Be in that moment, you do not need to be in a hammock to practice this, you could be waiting at a red light to turn green or waiting for you coffee to brew, and then slowly grow this practice, find things you love in people or nature, take thew time to observe and acknowledge them, be open to love.
Take it further by feeling what it feels like to be loved
Life is very smooth when things go as planned and we are succeeding, it is when stuff falls apart, or when we feel rejected that we need to find the place of love. It is during these challenging moments that we are meanest to ourselves. Think of things a person who loves you would say when you are facing those challenges or struggling. Pretty sure there would be no criticism or judgement. There would be kindness, understanding, and acceptance and that is what you would need to practice towards yourself.
I am practicing self love by sharing this small note I received from a student which made me feel so loved and appreciated.
“Thank you so much for bringing heels class to the studio, I can not tell you how much positive impact the studio has had on my life and how much I love dancing here.” ~ Arielle
For the next two weeks inculcate the above two practices in your daily routine. Our next blog will take your practice further,When self doubt clouds me or when I am having a tough day, your words give me a quick dose of “what it feels like to be loved”, Thank you
Love Always
Neelam Kataria
