YOU!

They say you can’t love others if you don’t love yourself. It’s true! And who knew Justin Bieber would be the one giving us the self-care reminder? “You should go and love yourself”. Yes you should! So this Valentine’s Day is all about YOU!

You can only be fully there for your partner, friends, family and team members if you put on your own oxygen mask first.

We’ve got some amazing self-care rituals worked out for you to give you the Valentine’s Day you deserve. It’s meant to be: this year it’s is on a Sunday! A full day of pampering & self-lovin’ ahead with enough time left to get taken care of by the other loves in your life.

And hey, these self-care routines are perfect for any other day of the year too! Make sure to take that extra care of yourself every now and then!

HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF? YOUR PERFECT VALENTINE’S DAY SELF-CARE RITUAL:

1. Dry Brushing

Start out your I’m-my-own-Valentine’s Day with some full body dry brushing. All you need is a brush with soft and preferably natural hairs. Gently brush in small circles towards your heart.

Start at your feet and work your way up towards your torso and arms. If you have a small brush you can brush your neck and face as well.

Dry brushing removes dead skin cells, improves blood circulation and even helps to remove toxic build up in your lymphatic system. It stimulates cell-renewal, giving you clear and glowing skin that feels smooth as a baby’s bottom.
 

2. Relaxing Bath

Take a bath! This removes the skin cells left from dry brushing. The warm temperatures improves your blood circulation even more.

Take your time and relax! Stay in there for at least 15 minutes, put your phone on flight mode, light your favourite scented candles and put on some tunes that make you happy.

Easy stuff you probably have laying around the house somewhere that will help you relax, detox your body and cleanse your skin:

I wouldn’t necessarily try to use everything at once (if you do try this please let us know how that went ;) ), so find a nice combi that suits you.

Lavender, coconut oil and essential oils will be more relaxing, whilst baking soda, epsom salts, lemon and ginger have a more detoxifying effect. Herbal teas, honey and cinnamon will soften and soothe your skin.

No worries, I haven’t forgot the non-tub-owners! What to do if you have to settle for a shower? Simply use the ingredients above but mix and prepare them up front into a nice paste/scrub to give yourself a good rub during your extra-long-shower-session.
 

3. Connect With Yourself

Do an easy breathing and meditation exercise to fully get in touch with yourself. This should be easy after your warming and relaxing bath/shower. We’ve got a guided one for you below. But keep in mind that you do this exercise for YOU! So do what feels right, breathe in a way that’s comforting and find out what works best for you.

1. Sit comfortably and straighten your back. No difficult meditation positions or crossing your legs.
2. Put your hands on your stomach and start to breath slowly trough your nose.
3. Take deep breaths and exhale through your mouth.
4. Try to move your hands on your stomach by exhaling as much as possible, pushing your stomach inwards and contracting the muscles in your belly.
5. Breath in a new, fresh, fulfilling breath trough your nose.
6. Repeat until you’re totally relaxed, if you have difficulties to do so, try counting your breaths when exhaling to destress your mind.
 

4. Nourish Your Inside

After all this goodness I can’t let you indulge on sugary Valentine’s candy! And who knows, maybe you have big plans for the evening ;) So the best thing you can do to nourish your inside so you’ll radiate on the outside is eating healthy.

But don’t worry: we’ve got the perfect solution if you crave some delicious Valentine-themed goodness: these raspberry popsicles dipped in raw chocolate are all you need to surprise yourself and your Valentine.
 

5. Really Give Yourself Some Good Lovin’

Okay this might feel a little weird at first but know that’ll be definitely worth it! After you went through your beauty routine and put on clothes that make you feel confident, take a look at yourself in the mirror.

Gaze into you own eyes and start telling yourself all the things you like and love so much about yourself:
How glowing your skin looks after you took such good care of it. How beautiful it is that you can be nice to yourself and kind to others. How happy you are with being yourself. Even bless that nasty pimple or piece of hair that just won’t stay where it needs to be, because that’s what makes you YOU.

Then give yourself some time to keep staring into those beautiful eyes and really appreciate you just being then and there.
 

 
How amazing is that feeling of just being happy with yourself? One final question for you! Can you give us your reasons why we should all give more love to ourselves?

And then go tell each other how well-deserved their place on this planet really is :)
 
HAPPY VALENTINE! <3
 
 

Photo Credit © Mayur Gala via Unsplash