Last night I had the privilege to go to dinner with a beautiful friend. She’s an artist that I feel so lucky to have found through Instagram and Rocio - rocioart.com - is an amazing woman who is out here to take all the names and no prisoners. You would be mistaken to sleep on her 👏 I mean, you can clearly see her flawlessness in the pic 😍
It was so great to speak in person and be able to vibe with each other! We are both 25 and at such similar but of course different junctures in life. Our goals and mentality on what we want in life is very in tune though. Women with a drive and a passion like ours do not sit on the sidelines and I’m so happy to follow on her journey and have her be apart of mine!
We talked a lot about self love. I think it’s so important for anyone and everyone to NOT FEEL BAD about taking care of your physical and emotional needs and putting your own sanity and health before others. It does NOT make us selfish because we spent money on a massage or nails or hair or a nice snack or took a few hours or days of alone time. These are reasonable things to do for yourself! As women we are not fair to ourselves and we are our own worst critic. You deserve to feel loved and pampered and comfortable in your own head and body. Making space inside your brain for your own life and priorities - it's important to take care of things at home first, and then you will be so much better prepared to face the world - and take on the world's problems as well. Mom’s get the worst of it. It’s the hardest job in the world and they rarely - if ever - get time for self care.
If you have a mom in your life (who doesn't know A mom?) show her some love today. Flowers, a text, literally even ONE EMOJI goes a long way in keeping in touch with your friends/moms and letting them know how awesome they are. Better yet, get your mom friend a massage or babysit so she can go breathe and be a person for an afternoon!
We cannot expect or be expected to be at 100% for the rest of the world if we are not charged up to your full potential. Our bodies, and especially our minds, need a break and need time to rest and reflect. I have started to focus on the relationship I have with myself just as much or more than my other relationships. Be a friend to yourself! I say that to myself all day.
SELF CARE EXERCISE:
A favorite question I’ve been asking people recently - when is the last time you took THREE deep breaths and did nothing, NOTHING, for the length of those breaths? Most people think for a second or two and realize they haven’t EVER done that...so I encourage you, yes, you, right now. Stop reading, sit back comfortably but with proper posture, relax your shoulders, settle your feet flat on the floor. Take a second to make sure your body is comfortably relaxed and nothing feels strained. Close your eyes and slowly take three breaths, in and out - fully filling in though your stomach and your chest as you inhale, and then gently forcing all of the air and tension in your body out as you exhale. BIG BREATHS PEOPLE! If you want you can count to ten for each inhale and exhale to help pace yourself. I like to think of all the negative shit going out of my mind and body with each exhale. Just pushing it out of my space, making room for me and my goals inside of my own head.
I’ve been working deep breathing into my day wherever I can. I’ve gotten better at being able to center and calm myself within the first breath so that I really zen out in breaths two and three. It sounds a little whacky but ask yourself, what is it going to hurt to try and incorporate some self love into your day?!
This excercise can be done in 30 seconds. How many minutes are you on your phone in a day? Take half of one of those minutes the next time you’re scrolling, and give it a go! I hope you see some results! I’ve found it doesn’t take long to notice improvements if I stay vigilant and continue to incorpoate deep breathing into my life a little bit every day. Small but consistent changes build into big changes. Happy breathing!
Love, Liv