With Valentine's Day right around the corner, this becomes an invitation to reflect on how deeply we've been loving ourselves lately.

Self love is one of the biggest projects we’ll be given in our lifetime, with social media, the visual and digital age we are so often provided opportunities for unrealistic comparison and conjuring negative self-talk.

More importantly loving ourselves is easier than you might feel in darker times and it is such a magnetic, heart opening way to be; the more that you love yourself and treat yourself with high self-worth the more that others around you will know the breadth of your value.

Some practices that we use for creating a better, loving relationship with ourselves are:

A daily Ahimsa practice:

Ahimsa is a Sanskrit term and Niyama (a positive action for right living) that loosely translates to non-violence, which in other ways can be read as self-love. In turbulent times carve out space to journal each day ten things that you love about yourself. At first this may be difficult and feel strange but soon it will be a quick and spontaneous practice, if you’re able to read off huge lists of ways that you love yourself you will also become more open to loving from external sources.

Heart mediation:

Sitting in a comfortable seat, holding our beautifulrose quartz in your left hand (for feminine, lunar and receiving energy) breath into the heart space. Once you have settled here, begin speaking quietly the sound So with the inhale and Hum with the exhale. So Hum is a Vedic mantra that translates to I Am That – it creates an energetic connection to the cosmic, universal whole and you are saying to the universe that you are a part of everything, everything in the world that is utterly beautiful and breathtaking is in fact a part of you and you are a part of this.

Mirror work:

Before beginning your day tap into the heart space with ourHeart Kit– usingI Am Love spritzed over the heart space while meeting yourself in your mirror. Rather than picking apart the way you wished you looked offer this time to tell yourself three times, in a deep, strong and knowing voice I Love You.

Yogic Love:

Use ourHeart Meridian Blend on pulse points while practicing yoga, at the end of your class when you move from Savasana back into your off-the-mat life take both arms around yourself in a tight embrace and internally anoint yourself with the words I Love You.

May you feel loved. May you feel whole. May you feel complete.

Image via Pinterest