Move Like You Love Yourself

They way we treat our bodies can be powerful for our mental health. Here are five ways to move like you love yourself:

1) MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR BODY IN THE MORNING - If you, like many, wake up with negative feelings, try stretching rather than hitting the snooze button. By snoozing you’ll wake up to the same lousy feeling again and again. Stretching can be a way to appreciate and treat your body kindly. Try raising your knees up and letting them lay to one side, then the other, to stretch your back.

2) GETTING SENSUAL IN THE SHOWER - Did you choose the scent or texture of your shower gel? Then smell it in your hands and feel it on your skin. Rather than rushing and jerking yourself around, take the extra 60 seconds to breathe in the scent, smooth the soap tenderly onto your skin like you would to a person you love, to feel the temperature of the water and how it affects you. Give yourself permission to be the god or goddess (you can tell I’ve lived in LA) of that few minutes of your day. Then ease yourself out of the shower with care and tenderly pat your skin dry. PS If someone is likely to interrupt this with their demands for the bathroom, prepare them in advance so you can be undisturbed.

3) BREAKFAST POWER - If it helps, think about what breakfast you’d offer to a child you cared about. Fuel for the day, slow release energy, setting you up for greatness.

4) GETTING THERE - Whatever the location of the place you need to be today, can you move there like you love yourself? Jog a bit if it feels good, walk more slowly and take in the changing seasons, drive with your back straight and shoulders relaxed, or close your eyes to focus on your favourite tunes on the train, for example.

5) ARRIVING - Did you arrive to pressures and start to feel overwhelmed? Rather than crash on and continue to fry your nervous system, how about some soothing? Some suggestions: Cat Cow, 7 Minute Stress Buster.