When you hear self-love what are you thinking?
Oh, I should book a massage or facial. I should go to the gym. I should journal more. 

First, take should out of the sentence. And although facials, massages, fitness, or girls nights may be part of your self-care routine, it doesn’t have to be as luxurious as we have made it to be. Self-love is simply honoring where you are TODAY and being at peace with who you are. This is why it takes a lot of work. We are constantly chasing the next shiny thing and it has made us feel inadequate. The elusive promise of having it all has robbed us of joy in many ways.

What if we showed up for ourselves by simply sitting in meditation to calm our nervous system?

Nourishing ourselves with food that makes us feel good?

Trying a gentle workout on a day when we’re tired instead of beating ourselves up for not making it to the gym?

When we slowly start to accept where we are, we can enter each new day with gratitude for all that we have which will give us the feelings of self-love that we need to face our next task or challenge with grace. 

In many conversations I’ve been having recently, women are overwhelmed and burnt out. How do we juggle all the balls in our lives? How do we even carve out time for self-care? If you have 10 minutes, you can try something. Once you start making it a practice, you will build momentum for feeling good and start to align with what it is your body and soul really need. 

As a mom, I know how hard it is to make time for yourself. Many of my friends are in the business of helping others and forget to fill their own cup. I’m here to tell you that it is possible, but you have to prioritize your own needs. I made a promise to myself to consciously model self-love and self-care for my daughter every opportunity I have to do so. When she sees Mommy taking care of herself, she recognizes the importance of putting herself first too. This is my part of my purpose for all women whose lives I touch, not just my own daughter.

In a world where we have been sold a bill of goods that we can have it all, that is quite far from the truth. However, what we can have is grace for where we are today and the commitment to show up for ourselves again tomorrow. 

Interested in starting a self-care practice? Send me an email to get on the list Ashley @ashleynapoli.com