+On Self-Love Rituals

In today’s hustle-driven world—and especially during the collective hard times we’ve had lately—it can be challenging to prioritize oneself and know what we each need individually to feel centered. 

If you’re used to tying your worth to your bank account/productivity/career, for example, you might be coping by working yourself close to burnout. Or you may feel entirely shut down and numbed out, and not sure how to tap into your feelings.

There’s a reason that when we fly, we’re told to put on our own oxygen mask before helping anyone else. We can’t offer much to anyone when we don’t take care of ourselves first! Slowing down to offer yourself love, care, and compassion amid a not-so-perfect world helps build resilience, combat burnout, and can help us feel calmer, safer, and more centered as we navigate life’s ups and downs.

Learning how to practice self-love and self-care is just that: a practice. Self-love rituals are activities or practices that help promote self-care, self-acceptance, and overall well-being.

Social media may have us thinking that all we need to do is run a bath and throw a face mask on and we’re good to go. While self-care and self-love certainly can involve facials and hot soaks, there are so many other ways to be good to ourselves beyond that! A self-care and self-love practice will look different based on everyone's needs and interests, and it will probably involve (at least at first) experimenting with different things to see what sticks.

Here are some examples of my daily self-love practices to start with:

• A consistent skincare routine: Taking time to properly cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize, and nourish my sensitive dry eczema skin with KOKOBÉRNA skin care products helps me feel more confident and refreshed.
• Relaxation practices: Incorporating juicy soul-nourishing activities such as yoga, meditation, dancing, painting, journaling, long walks with Edidion the Coton de Tuléar, or healing energy work into my daily routine helps me reduce stress and promote a sense of calm that lasts throughout the day.
• Positive affirmations or mantras: Repeating and feeling positive affirmations, such as "I am worthy" or "I am deserving of love and happiness," helps boost my self-esteem and promote feelings of self-love. To promote skin-love during your skin care routine, I offer the following affirmation as a gift: "May my skin radiate the beauty that is within".
• Pampering: Treating myself to an exfoliating experience with our Skin Renewing Ubtan Polish followed by a wet skin massage using Opulent Saffron Beauty Elixir, relaxing deeply and thoughtfully into my twice-daily tea ritual, or even a mani-pedi with my phone on Airplane mode helps me feel deeply relaxed, uninterrupted, and pampered.
• Nourishing your body: I love eating nutritious foods as often as I am able, drinking plenty of water, and engaging in physical activity. All of this help me continuously improve my overall physical and emotional health over time.

Remember, self-love is not a destination and instead it is an evolving journey into well-being and wholeness. It is my hope that by sharing a few of my rituals, you can select one or two and incorporate them into a daily self-love routine that’s unique to you. Doing this helps develop a positive and loving relationship with yourself as we transition this season of love together. 🤍

May you be #kokobernabeautiful

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