Self-care and self-love are two concepts that have gained much use in recent years with the explosion of the wellness and self-development industries. It is quite common now to hear that if you want to improve your health, relationships, work, self-expression and enjoyment of life the first step is to love you first. And at some deep level we all know that this is a truth with a capital T but here is the roadblock, HOW exactly do we LOVE ourselves, I mean what does that even look like?
Knowing how to love you best is quite personal as no-one person is the same. What feels good for some might feel like a chore to others and so there is no “drink-a-kale-smoothie-meditate-in-a-sauna-and-enjoy-euphoric-feelings-of-love-about-your-self,”universal solution. There is however a universal (and well-researched and documented) knowingness that when a person dedicates time to self-care they reap numerous benefits including:
- Reduced feelings of stress and anxiousness
- Improved concentration & productivity
- Heightened sense of self-esteem and confidence
- Increased energy levels
- Improved health
- Weight loss
- Happier relationships
- Deeper feelings of joy and contentment
- Lots of other fun benefits including better sex, better sleep, bouts of giggles and an increased desire to smile
Ok, so back to the original roadblock… We know that we want the benefits of self-care and we deeply desire to love the self unconditionally, so how the hell do we do it?
We take time. We explore. We eat. We breathe. We feel. We reward. We acknowledge. We trust. We share. We nourish. We celebrate…
And when we are struggling to find time, to breathe, to be kind to the self we start small and simple… We BOOST!
My life (and the life of those in the near vicinity of me) transformed when I learnt how to care for myself in simple ways with the help of some special tools from nature – Essential Oils!
Essential oils offered a path to self-care that was easy, effortless and efficient. All of a sudden self-care was not hard because now I had tools that when used = self-love in action. Brene Brown says that love is an action, which is good, because I am good at taking action.
The more I learnt about self-care, studied essential oils and work with clients to establish natural patterns of care I realized that the problem with self-care and self-love as concepts is the pressure we create around them and the endless list of how it can be interpreted. It broke my heart to see so many friends, family, colleagues, mothers, children and well, just generally people struggle to be kind to themselves when there was a quick, simple and easy solution.
I was immediately inspired to change the perception of self-care as selfish and give my sisterhood the secret to filling their own cup so that it overflowed and they could give more to others (with a genuine smile).
Using essential oils as the tool, I developed quick “micro-moment” (think 5-10 minutes) care routines that supported the self to heal at multiple levels simultaneously. So, why the oils therapeutic qualities healed my physical body, their aroma and silky feel started working on the emotional and mental bodies.
There are over 48 oils that I use today. Each oil has its own specific properties and depending on when and how it is used will support the body to heal different ailments. There are numerous ways to use Essential Oils from vaporizing to massage and steam inhalation. Each method is different and just as with the different oils will support a different level of self-care, nourishment and healing.
What I have found is that through the signature Twenty8 technique – The BODY Boost – which literally takes less than 2 minutes, my clients began to treat and respond to themselves differently. When a client committed to boosting every day for a month I would see remarkable differences – they were brighter, they were happier, their shoulders were back and heads held high, they were less stressed and kinder and I also noticed that they were showing up in a new way – it was like the hard walls of society had dropped away and they finally had permission to be them – the true them.
Learning to love self is a journey – a very personal journey – and it is one that must be treaded lightly and sprinkled with kindness. Knowing what works for you will only be found through exploration and listening to your body. Being able to hear your body comes from slowing down, taking “micro-moments” away from thought, FEELING discomfort and pain, speaking gently and positively to yourself and recognizing that where you are right now is perfect…
For many of us getting to a point of being able to slow down, quiet a chattering and overactive mind and hear our body’s messages is the first major hurdle and this is where I tell you and implore you to get some help from NATURE.
Spritz yourself back to the moment, body boost your way back to the “good feels”, breathe in the moment with a clarity blend and reduce the toxic load in your life with a diffuser, h20 and a few drops of a delicious and powerful oil blend.
Step by step, minute by minute, with each breath, rub and spray, you will start to remember who you are – an AMAZING HUMAN BEING – and you will without too much time or effort be “loving yourself” and then one day you will wake up and look in the mirror and probably be shocked as you catch yourself thinking:
“Wow, who is this sexy, gorgeous, women and how did I ever let her be forgotten…”
Learning to love yourself is a process; it is a journey that starts with a first step to want to see your own worth and then a commitment to do one small thing each day for you. Today I want to commit to you and your journey by offering you the opportunity to attend our upcoming FREE webinar that will take you step-by-step through the 4 keys to daily self-care and how to use Essential Oils as the tools to self-love, self-confidence, self-respect and all the other good-self concepts!