Celebrating all kinds of love on Valentine’s Day
SASHA MCGRENERA // CONTRIBUTOR
January passed with failed New Years resolutions, negative-energy charged exercise regimes, and warped body image expectations. “New year, same me” – continually enlightened, growing and learning to love ourselves.
How does one practice self-love?
Truthfully, we might think that we don’t. More likely than not, we practice it every day without even realizing. Simply put, it’s in the little things that we think of and do for ourselves. Whether it be brushing out our knotted hair, treating ourselves to a pint of coconut ice cream or stretching out our bodies after a long day of work. Self-love is in all of the small practices that make us feel confident, loved, cared for, and appreciated.
When it comes to self-love, Sisley Killam, a Vancouver-based registered holistic nutritionist, health and wellness blogger and creator of the eBook and brand The Pure Life, has pointers on how we too can achieve a higher degree of selflove and awareness.
Killam believes that before we focus on anything external we have to look inward at our truest self and begin with a shift to our own mindset. “It’s really important to focus on being mindful, listening to our thoughts and acknowledging your thoughts as they come in,” she said. It’s also important to know when to accept these thoughts or “be like nope, this doesn’t serve me, and leave it behind.”
Essentially, there are two parts to the selflove equation. The first is external factors like exercise and properly nourishing our bodies with wholesome foods. The second are the internal factors, which Killam thinks we don’t discuss enough. There are a few different ways in which Killam suggests we can apply simple internal practices. These are positive self-talks, as well as meditating and utilizing deep breathing techniques for five to 10 minutes in the morning and at night. This can help us comprehend thinking in a positive way and challenging our negative thoughts, as well as learning to not beat ourselves up over our mistakes or feelings of jealousy.
“I think if we just change the message for Valentine’s Day then I think that opens up a whole new world. I mean it’s 2018, love and self-care is the topic of the year, as it should be. We’ve been waiting for it,” said Killam. According to Killam, the holiday is the perfect day to celebrate all of the love in one’s life. It is all a matter of negative or positive perspective.
“I think that Valentine’s Day is a wonderful example of that and although not everybody celebrates Valentine’s Day, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for us just to be reminded that there is so much love in the world and that it should be celebrated. Whether that’s loving yourself or loving your partner, or loving your family,” she said. “It’s a great day to celebrate all of the love in your life.”