What if you actually are perfect? This is a short list of ways to practice knowing, remembering, and loving the beautiful big picture of who You are.
How do you love yourself? It can be easy (and overwhelming) to focus on all the things you think need fixing to be where it seems like you need and want to be. We have these stories about life, and who we are, that put a lot of pressure on us to be a certain way or feel that we are somehow broken or damaged - too much of this, or too little of that. But what if each of us is actually perfect just the way we are?
There is a Sanskrit word purnata, meaning perfection and fullness. This makes me think of the moon, how it is always full, whole, perfect even when our vantage point doesn't show it. And so it is with us.
You actually are perfect just the way you are. You are good. You are whole. This is a short list of ways to practice knowing, remembering, and loving the beautiful big picture of who you are.
Surround yourself with people who are kind. Let your authentic self be seen by people who like and support you, and reflect light back to you.
Repeat after me: "I have no one to impress and nothing to prove."
Meditate on your connectedness/oneness with the source of love.
Prioritize fun.
Drink lots of water. Eat vegetables.
Forgive.
Let other people be as they are, too. Don't take their sidelong looks, words, or actions personally. You have no idea what they're actually thinking...and regardless, it does not matter a lick in the reality of your worthiness and beauty.
Write yourself a love letter.
Inhale love. Exhale gratitude.
Move your body; get out of your head.
Be intentional with your time.
Accept praise. You are divine.
Clean and purge. Marie Kondo that #*%@! Make room for your joy and the flow of love and light through your spaces.
Spend time with animals.
Spend time with children.
See a therapist, someone who can meet you where you are, as you are and honor and support your process.
Accept support.
Go on a retreat (...or a yoga conferennce). Recenter.
Write down your thoughts.
Day dream.
Do something new that excites you.
Travel.
Ground all of your self "improvement" in self love. Operate from a place of love and let the work you do be a gift to your spirit (and the world), instead of scorn.
Sing, even if you don't think it's pretty.
Dance, even if you don't think it's cute.
Save some money, even if you don't think you can afford to.
Finish a project you've been putting off.
Allow yourself to fail and start over or move on.
Light a candle, breathe, and center in the moment.
Feel your feelings.
Tune in to your senses.
Identify your emotional needs and honor them in your relationships. What you want and need is important. You are important. You deserve relationships that respect your needs and boundaries.
YOGA - All the yoga.
How do you love yourself? What are some ways you do you? What helps you remember your purnata?
Om
Written by Jillian Anawaty, SDYC Presenter and Co-Organizer. Jillian owns Vibrant Life Yoga & Pilates in Rapid City. She loves conversation, dancing, mysticism, plants, delicious food and sunshine.
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