Self-Love: the Truth behind the Trend 

Put simply, it’s the rather radical notion of loving ourselves with the same intensity and grace with which we love others.

Think about what you’d do for your best friend. If they’re sick, you’re the one making sure they take the day off and bringing them soup and tea. When they’re happy, you’re dancing around the house with them. So this month, let’s practice extending that same care and love to ourselves! We’ve collected our three favourite ways to bring a little extra love to each day, with links to help turn dreams to action…

Mindfulness

Another buzzword, mindfulness is a practice that can, and will change your life. Starting with three minutes, then five, then ten, and maybe even working to twenty, mindfulness is the simple practice of being present in the moment. Techniques like focussing on your breath, picking five things you can see, hear, smell, feel and taste, or even visualising warm sunlight filling you up from the inside out, can help lower anxiety levels, preserve memories and encourage healthy thought patterns. Researchers at Stanford, Harvard and UCLA have spoken: mindfulness is key to a healthy mental practice!

Grow your mindfulness muscle in our Yin Yoga, Vinyasa, Power Flow and Aerial Yoga classes , where we take a few minutes at the beginning and end of the class to focus on our breath, our body, and our presence in the room. If you’re a little nervous about going into a full hippie meditation, getting into a Yoga class is the perfect gentle introduction to mindfulness - no incense required.

You can practice mindful moments at home by simply taking deep breaths in for the count of four, and out for the count of six. Combine that with your favourite app of choice (we love Smiling Mind for free and accessible mindful practice for everyone!) and you’re one step closer into bringing a more loving aspect to your day.

Movement

Of course, we know that movement makes all the difference. Hundreds of our clients can testify - taking an hour to leave your phone on do not disturb, and engaging with our bodies strengthens our bodies and minds. Health professionals recommend at least pencilling in deliberate movement at least three times a week, preferably five times to encourage healthy heart function, muscular strength and the release of ‘happy hormones’ like dopamine and oxytocin throughout the body to fight stress and release physical and mental tension.

What’s key is finding your movement. For some, that’s pounding the pavement after a long day at work, for others, it’s a sun salutation bright and early in the morning, maybe hitting the Barre or flipping upside down in Aerial Yoga. Whatever your favourite kind of movement is, make sure to schedule it in advance and prioritise you! Apps like MindBody are super helpful when you’re booking in movement, since you can sync your classes here with your calendar, giving you a little reminder that today, you chose strength!

Meals

This one is tricky. I don’t know about you, but I am a die-hard chocoholic. There’s something about a bar of roasted almonds in milk chocolate that hits the spot; but I realised after going an hour out of my way to pick up my daily dose of chocolate, that a little treat was becoming a lot more worrisome.

We’ve all got our little vices, and do you know what… that’s okay! I think we can forget how important it is to be kind and have grace for ourselves. That kindness can be extended to mindful eating, and you’ll soon see what a difference it makes to your eating habits when you look at each meal as sacred nutrition. Much like any mindfulness practice, it takes time, effort and lots of back-and-forth to turn it into a habit. Learning to taste each flavour in a meal, and reclaiming the joy of cooking a meal is one goal we’re determined to keep as the year goes on!

All this being said, what matters most is finding your form of self-love. For me, self-love is getting up half an hour earlier to make a freshly ground cup of coffee and reading a book before the day gets too busy. For my housemate, it’s sleeping in until 10, because she knows her body needs it. My neighbour? They’re up at six for a run. Every single beautiful body is different, and when we learn to listen to the still whisper inside, we can learn to respond to our needs, and maybe even hear the needs of others… that sounds like a pretty great form of love to me!

How do you stay Mindful, practice Self-Love and bring gratitude to your day? Share your tips and comments below

- Eliza and the AerialFitTeam