5 Things You Can Do To Show Yourself Love This Valentine’s Day
On February 14th, it can be easy to depend on someone else to make you feel loved, but what do you do to show yourself love?
I’m sure you’ve heard me mention that there are 2 nervous system paths. Parasympathetic (Rest & Digest) and Sympathetic (Fight & Flight) are our bodies two options. Instead of counting on someone else to bring you calm, restful state you can do following for yourself. Even better, you can do these things WHENEVER you want or need, not just on Valentine’s Day!
Put on your favorite music and sing along! The vibration of your vocal chords at different frequencies actually activates your parasympathetic nervous system. Bonus: this will likely make you smile and our facial muscles are linked to our ability to rest and digest too.
Write a list of all the things that you’re proud of yourself for doing/achieving and that you love about yourself. If you’re focused on how amazing you are, it pushes negative stress provoking thoughts to the side. Plus, when we focus on positive/happy memories, we’re more likely to experience life more positively in real time!
Do a 30-minute workout to boost circulating endorphins, a.k.a, happiness hormones.
Eat a nutritious and colorful meal. The different colors of our foods have different nutrient makeups. Think a colorful salad that includes dark leafy greens, carrots, and fruits, maybe a piece of fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, cod, trout) to improve your cholesterol, and some sort of complex carb (chickpeas, sweet potato, brown rice). Dessert- dark chocolate is actual a superfood. The gut actually has more pathways to send information back to your brain about your “state” than your brain has to send information to your gut.
Pamper yourself. Take a warm soothing bath with lavender, drink some chamomile tea.
BONUS: show gratitude or love to someone else. Even a kind word or smile to a stranger will leave them and you feeling amazing!