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Today’s 14 Days of Self-Love Post comes from the wonderful holistic health coach Valerie Tookes. I wanted to bring back her post from last year as it was so empowering to the readers and I felt like this message was so worthy of being spread again! If you’re looking for some extra inspiration, Valerie has some really powerful posts on her blog that explore self-love and self-care, my favourite being: Like an Elephant, Begin Again, Hello Beauty and Self-Esteem or Self-Love…Which do you choose?
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This 21 day Self Love Cleanse, inspired by Ali Edwards, is a great way to love yourself up.
Step One: Grab your camera, journal, and printer.
Step Two: Take at least one picture of yourself every day. (I am a big fan of taking tons of tons of self portraits until I get one that captures something about that day.)
Step Three: At the end of each day, choose one self portrait that gives voice to something about you that day.
Step Four: Print out that photo and put it in your journal. It can be your regular everyday journal or one chosen just for the Self Love Cleanse. Regardless of which you choose, be sure that there are enough pages for the full 21 days.
Step Five: Once your image is in your journal, grab a pen and finish the sentence:
“I love you today because….”
Here is where you get to cleanse yourself of those negative voices. Your job is to think up one thing that you love about yourself today. It can be one word, or a long run-on sentence but I encourage you to think back on your day and really embrace something amazing that you loved about yourself on that day.
Did you make it through a tough moment with grace and dignity?
Were you compassionate to a stranger?
Did you shower love on your partner?
Or skillfully avoid an argument?
How did you show up for yourself or for someone else today?
What spectacular thing has you loving you today?
As with cultivating the daily practice of writing down what you are grateful for, the first few days may prove to be a challenge but keep it up. By the middle of the second week your mind is finding things to love about you and by the end, you will be loving yourself up with joy and ease.
Step Six: (definitely my favorite) On the 21st day, after your “last” image has been added to your journal and the last “I love you because,” written, sit down and read to yourself the story of your last three weeks. Read it slowly and savor each and every good deed, warm smile and loving gesture you managed to capture on the page and take a moment to let it sink in.
The person on these pages was seen, she was held and she was loved.
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Valerie Tookes is a certified holistic health and lifestyle coach and owner of HER: Holistic Health, a WHOLEHEARTED approach to wellness.
Valerie helps clients create a personalized roadmap to health and wellness that suits your unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals. This multi-layered approach to coaching helps you make life long changes and step into a new relationship with the beautiful woman that you see in the mirror. She can be found at www.herholistichealth.com