Cultivating self love
Self-care is just as important as diet, sleep and exercise to achieving and maintaining good health and well-being, but in our busy, tech-driven world these things are often the first to be pushed to the bottom of our 'to do' list...
If you're anything like me giving, helping and doing things for others comes naturally and brings a real sense of joy and fulfilment.
I learned to take on a care-taker role early in life - finding solutions, fixing problems and prioritising other people's needs ahead of my own. But I would often neglect myself in the process and wound up in stressful and difficult situations - at work and home.
Eventually, I came to see that it wasn't my job and I couldn't always fix other people's problems, especially if they didn't want to do any work themselves.
I realised that self-love and finding inner-peace and acceptance was the key to being happy and healthy. And it was around time that I found myself at an Iyengar yoga studio in Sydney and began a more honest and loving relationship - with myself!
Do you put other people's needs ahead of your own? What would happen if you spent a little more time loving yourself instead?
Friends, who saw my list earlier in the year, commented that there was nothing about money (yet, I made enough) or my career and paid professional work (there was plenty of that too). I decided some years Fast forward ten years and I'm lucky to have found an outlet for my inner-caretaker as a yoga teacher - sharing my passion and supporting others in a structured, tangible and measurable way.
Yoga is not just a physical exercise. It's a tool for self-awareness, understanding and love. It provides an opportunity to step away from everyday chores and responsibilities, to slow down and tune into what's really going on in the body, mind and heart.
I watch as many of my regular students develop new skills, overcome obstacles and achieve goals and I feel incredibly grateful and privileged to support and guide them. By simply showing up on the mat, they are choosing to practice self love and in turn they remind me to keep looking after myself too. (Thanks guys!)
Try incorporating more self-care into your life this month - it can be as simple as sitting quietly for ten minutes in the morning, attending a yoga or meditation class, going for a walk after work or just going to bed early...
"How do we find such profound transformation in what from the outside may look simply like stretching or twisting the body into unusual positions? It begins with awareness."
- BKS Iyengar
