Oil Tips for Self Love
Self Love: honoring and being present in the body and life that you have
Week one : Self Love. How do you love yourself? Do you do get enough sleep? Do you eat well? Do you make time to be thoughtful about your present and future life?
Living life on the hamster wheel has sometimes crept up on me and derailed me from what seemed like no where. One moment I am being super mindful of my intentions, meditating, grounding, exercising, drinking water and tracking everything that goes into my mouth; the next: something throws me off kilter; a change in my schedule, company arrives from out of town that alters my routine, I am called to deal with an unanticipated emergency or I get sick and fall out of my daily routine of self care. It happens quickly and fiercely. And one day I realize that I am eating things I shouldn’t, having an extra cup of coffee when I clearly don’t need it, snorkeling down a half a bag of bonitos (they aren’t THAT big are they?) and ignoring those sad eyes of my dog as he pleads with me to take him for a walk because I just don’t have the time or have just lost my mojo.
It happens. And when it does, I feel it. I’m off kilter. My body has new aches or I feel bloated or overly tired. I can’t get out of my own way. So I have to wake up the next morning and start over, slow my roll and remember that I can take a mulligan and it’s OK. I forgive myrself for falling out of sorts and start over. A part of that re-boot is to remind myself of the fact that I am “perfect” as I am and that I need to slow things down to be able to be more present in my life and body. It is the that I grab my Grapefruit and Patchouli oil and I either diffuse it or blend the together and apply it to my lava stone diffuser necklace, wrists, behind my ears and over my heart: anywhere I can easily smell it. And I apply often.
Grapefruit is uplifting and reminds us that our bodies are to be respected and appreciated, even though we may fall off the “healthy” wagon and abuse it a little. (or maybe a lot if the party cousins are coming to town!) It is easy to overcompensate and deprive ourselves with a crazy diet or unproductive judgement of how we look. (I am guilty!) Grapefruit oil isn’t used as a scapegoat that says “hey, YOLO, just let yourself go… It will be fine”, but rather says “Um, girlfriend, no judgement, but yesterday was a liiiiittle rough. And lucky for you, today is a new day, and you can find new ways to honor your body by eating well, getting back into your routine and loving yourself as you know you should”. Patchouli partners with her and brings you back out of the chaos that pulled you away in the first place and grounds you, allowing you to slow your roll and be present in your body. When you are slow and thoughtful, and in the here and now, you are more thoughtful about the choices you make.
This “Valentine” month, the most important person to love the most is yourself. If you do, then you can be your best for the people you love. Trust me, although others may love you unconditionally, you emit a sense of peace when you unquestionably love yourself; everyone can feel that when they are in their presence.