In yoga class last week we had just finished a really tough abs sequence (I was feeling the BURN) and the instructor finally told us to hug our knees into our chest, giving us a little break.

What she said next surprised and moved me:

“Say something nice to yourself, like, I love you and I’ll never leave you.”

This hit me hard (in a good way); it really resonated with me. What an incredible thing to say to yourself.
I love you and I’ll never leave you.

I have a whole bunch of self-love practices that have changed my life, including staring at myself naked in the mirror and saying “I love you” (best thing ever, kudos to my previous coach).

And by the way, I didn’t skip off, bum flying and do this right away. I was hesitant, and skeptical, and it felt weird as hell, but when I finally started REALLY doing it I became one of those insanely (genuinely, not obnoxiously – I don’t think) happy people.

Because when you really love yourself and are committed to staying with yourself, it’s not difficult to make the choices necessary to have the body, career, relationships, and friends you really long for.

When you overeat, you’re abandoning yourself and your needs. You’re treating yourself like a trash can. Not so loving.

When you keep quiet at work instead of being yourself and speaking up, you shove yourself in a proverbial closet. The opposite of loving yourself and never leaving yourself.

When you stay in the abusive relationship, you’re ignoring yourself as a valid human with wants and needs, like love and affection – not verbal or physical abuse.

When you sincerely love yourself, you…

• Stop eating when you’re full because you love your body too much to burden it with excess food and toxins. Too much of any food is super tough for your system to process and slows you down, mentally and physically.
• You step out of the unhealthy relationship that makes you freakin’ sad or angry every. single. day. because you know your emotional health impacts every other area of your life, and when your partner is sucking the life out of you it’s really tough to show up for yourself at work, eat well, exercise, and do things you love.
• Get your career in alignment with what you actually want to be doing, whether that means talking to your boss about adjusting your role, switching companies, or starting your own business. The most important thing is that you’re working toward something you care about every day.

When you tell yourself I love you, I’ll never leave you, your body starts producing happy hormones like serotonin.

These hormones boost mood, immunity and digestion, and make your relationships, career, and daily interactions so much lighter and easier. Everything feels better when you’re happy and your organs are running properly.

Do you see how everything’s connected, and love is the foundation? Yes, cheesy. Also, true.

So every day this week, I want you to say to yourself mentally I love you and I’ll never leave you, or out loud in the mirror if you’re ballsier than I was at first.

It’s especially awesome and impactful to say this before meals, meetings or tough conversations, or any other time you’re feeling tense, or ganging up on yourself mentally.

After you do it for a few days, leave a comment below and let me know how it feels.

We could talk about this for hours, and get into more of the science of self-love, and we will. But for now, I’m gonna leave you with this nugget to digest.

What do you think of this daily self-love practice? Helpful? Cool? Stupid?

Leave a comment below and tell me.

I love hearing from you, and you’re the reason I do this work and love it so much.