The ever elusive self-love
The Pursuit of Self-Love
I will always, tirelessly chase self-love. Every day, I work to bring that love and light into my body, my mind, and my soul. It is the hardest, yet most fulfilling practice in my life.
Not everyone struggles with self-love; for some people, it is as natural as breathing. For me, it is more like trying to catch my breath- sometimes I can find it, but it can leave as quick as it came. Once I catch it, I feel all its goodness. I remember that I am a whole, wondrous being who doesn’t need to be anything other than what I already am. That I have been, and always will, be enough. And then it leaves, and that remembrance becomes a distant, faded feeling.
For me, my self-love lives in my Manipura (solar plexus) and Anahata (heart) chakras. When un-cleansed, the Manipura chakra can throw us into thoughts of the past and the future, and give way for the ego to take hold. Being our source of fire and power, the Manipura chakra can either be our greatest tool or the catalyst to our ego running wild. Our Anahata chakra holds the potential for unconditional love- for the people in our lives and for ourselves. Over years of pursuing self-love, I have found that working to cleanse these chakras helps me find my way a bit closer to that remembrance.
What chakras light up your access to self-love may be different, but I wanted to share some practices that I come back to often to cleanse and activate those chakras and ultimately inch closer towards self-love.
Some Self-Love Practices
Affirmations
Settle into an easy seat, wherever you may be. Sit up tall and gently close your eyes. As you says these words, feel them ebb throughout your body. Imagine them becoming real within your life and your soul. Feel the weight and warmth of those ideas spread across your body, and settle in each chakra. Know that our reality is what we chose, and you can choose these words.
For your Manipura chakra:
“I am enough. I will always be enough.”
“Everything that I need is already inside me.”
“I love and accept myself exactly as I am.”
“I stand in my power, and honor who I am.”
“I give myself permission to own my joy and happiness.”
For your Anahata chakra:
“I am worthy of fierce love.”
“I have boundless love to give and receive.”
“My heart knows and I give myself permission to follow.”
“My emotions are safe.”
“Love and compassion flow freely and fill me up.”
Yoga (Asanas)
I would love nothing more than to take you through a self-love and acceptance flow, so please reach out if you are interested. In the meantime, a quick google search on yoga classes for these chakras should give you a wealth of options! If you are someone who enjoys your own personal practice, I have detailed elements I pull into each class below.
For your Manipura chakra
Your Manipura is your source of fire, so to awaken and honor the solar plexus chakra I build a fiery, intense class. Constant movement and powerful moves to wake up my soul, turn on the core, and build heat in the body. Strong movements that remind us that we are capable of more than we think if we just decide to lean into our power. Another important part of balancing this chakra is letting go of the past and future; freeing ourselves from our trauma and pains of the past and releasing expectations and worries for the future.
Be prepared to turn on your core and embrace expansive poses. Your common core Sun A and Sun B poses are great for this chakra, such as high crescent lunge (Anjaneyasana), Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II), downward dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), but focus on finding strength and taking up space. Throughout your flow, bring in movements that also fire up your core such as side twists and dynamic plank poses.
For your Anahata chakra
Focus on slow, gooey, in-your-feels movements. To open our heart chakra we need to be open to all of our emotions- both the ones we welcome and the ones we shy away from. So allow yourself to settle into whatever you may be feeling, acknowledge those emotions and then let them go. All emotions are important and have a purpose for our growth and freedom; it is up to you to embrace them.
Think heart openers, literally. It can be as simple as cat-cow, baby cobra, and bridge pose. You can also fiercely open your heart with poses like extended side angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana), camel (Ustrasana), and wild thing (Camatkarasana)- my favorite. Most importantly, embrace what your body is calling for and what your heart needs. More important that a specific pose or a certain flow is following your heart’s lead.
Pranayamas
Breath work is a crucial practice for opening up and realizing your chakras’ potential. It is arguably one of the most important elements of my personal practice. For each of these breath exercises, take an easy seat where your spine is long and you are completely comfortable.
For your Manipura chakra
The Kapalabhati breath, also known as the “breath of fire” or “skull shining breath,” is a powerful cleansing technique that builds fire in your body. It consists of many short, explosive exhales through your nose, followed by a long, passive inhale. These exhales come from powerful contractions in your lower belly, focused on building fire and fully cleansing all stale breath in the body. Note: I would not recommend doing this breath while you are on your period- you want to avoid building fire during that time in your cycle.
This explanation from Yoga Journal provides a thorough description on how to do the Kapalabhati breath
For your Anahata chakra
Bhramari, also called the “humming bee breath,” is a wonderful breath practice to get you out of your head and help heal your heart. It mainly consists of exhales during which you make the “om” sound with your mouth closed; this creates a humming vibration that travels throughout your whole body. I find this to be one of the most healing and immediately transformative breaths. Note: This breath holds very high potential for anyone struggling with anxiety or depression, as it safely helps to drown out the anxious loop of thoughts in your head.
This explanation from Yoga International provides you with multiple ways to practice your Bhramari.
The practices listed above are just that- practices. They are not cures, but rather tools that help me continually work towards a space of self-acceptance and fierce love. My greatest hope in sharing these exercises is that I help even one person to catch their breath and feel the warmth that is self-love.
With love,
Lex
