Cultivate Self-Love and Appreciation

I was recently having a conversation with a friend about how he will be in a yoga class and feel amazing, and then there will be 1 pose that he struggles with. And then his brain focuses on what he can’t do and all of those good thoughts he has been feeling seem to vanish and he fixates on that 1 negative thought.

Shockingly, about 80% of the thoughts we have per day are negative thoughts. 80 Percent! And just like my friend in his yoga class, many of those negative thoughts are directed towards ourselves. The good thing is that we have the power to transform our thoughts, and yoga is a vehicle in which to do so.  

Yoga is more than just physical postures; it's a practice that encompasses the mind, body, and soul. Yoga teaches us to cultivate a deep sense of awareness, fostering a mindful connection with our inner selves. This creates the space and awareness to catch our patterns and habits. When a negative thought comes in, our awareness allows us to take a break to pause and reflect, and question the accuracy of that thought. We we do so, we often find that negative thoughts are more based on feelings than on facts.

When we realize that our negative thoughts have no grounding or foundation, we can more easily replace this negative thought with a positive one. It encourages a more compassionate inner dialogue. We are able to meet our limitations with kindness and acceptance, rather than judgement or criticism. We begin to see ourselves in a more loving and forgiving light, and it is in these moments of genuine self-encounter that the roots of self-love begin to grow.

Through awareness, we can begin to change our thoughts one by one. After all, we are with ourselves - our bodies, our minds, and our spirits for the rest of our lives. Wouldn’t it be nicer instead if being so hard on ourselves that we could be our own best friend?