#Selflove

With the celebration of Valentines Day typically geared towards couples, chocolate and flowers we thought we would take a different approach here at STYLE.CA. We have been spending the new year focusing on strengthen the most important relationship we have … the one with ourselves. See below for some examples of “gifts” you can give to yourself this week of love.

1. Two Minutes of Quiet – A full mediation practice can sometimes feel overwhelming to us, so what we have been trying to implement is 2 simple minutes of quiet when we get up in the morning. We roll out of bed and sit on the carpet and just stop for 2 minutes to focus on our breathing. As we got used to the two minutes we have been extending it to say positive thoughts/affirmations. It’s a great start to the day.
2. Gratitude Journal – We found it is a lot easier to love yourself when you are thankful for all that you have.  The easiest way for us to do this is through writing (for you it might be from some other form of expression).  Our gratitude journal reminds us of all we have to be thankful for and that seems to release the love we have for ourselves and our situation.
3. Stretching/Walking – We often aim to do a yoga class or go for a run in the morning before heading to the office, but sometimes it’s not possible. Instead of not doing anything we have replaced those moments with doing 15 minutes of stretching or heading out for a leisurely walk instead.
4. Being Easier on Ourselves –  Not everything in the day is going to go according to plan. And although we are typically Type A we have tried to let ourselves aim for Type –A . Going with the flow a bit more has taken a lot of unnecessary day to day stressors.
5. Treating Yourself – There is usually something in our day that feels like it will make us a bit happier and we have let ourselves just do it. For us it has been everything from buying ourselves the $5.99 raspberries (even though they aren’t on sale) or taking an uber because the experience is more relaxing then the subway. Don’t be hesitate to do something nice for yourself, the financial cost may only be a dollar or two more but the return on that dollar is usually far greater.

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