Meditation has helped me to stay grounded, connected & has helped me to improve my mindset. I often hear people around me saying that meditation doesn't work for them. I realize that the art of meditation doesn't come easy to some...but there are still many other ways that you can feel that same connected and grounded state without doing the formal ways of meditation. Here are my top 5 ways to stay grounded if meditation doesn't work for you.
1. Grounded Seat
Take a moment to find a seat in a chair that has a back and one where your feet can touch the ground. Start by allowing your eyes to close. Focus on how the seat feels. How your back feels pressing against the back of the chair. Notice how your feet feel rooted to the ground. Take a couple breaths here just noticing everything about being supported by the chair.
Take a moment to find a seat in a chair that has a back and one where your feet can touch the ground. Start by allowing your eyes to close. Focus on how the seat feels. How your back feels pressing against the back of the chair. Notice how your feet feel rooted to the ground. Take a couple breaths here just noticing everything about being supported by the chair.
2. 5 Senses Awareness
Take a moment to notice your 5 senses. What do you smell? What do you see? What do you hear? What do you taste? What do you touch? As you notice each of your senses try to think of 5 of each thing & describe it to yourself. For example. let's say your listening to something...what is the sound like? Quiet? Loud? Soothing? Disruptive? Notice how it makes your feel.
3. Hold something and really focus on it
Hold an object in your hand and really bring your full focus to it. If I was looking at one of my crystals I would see the patterns that run through it, notice the color. Some have veins of different colors going through the or sparkly bits. Look at where shadows may fall on parts of it or maybe there are shapes that form within the object. Feel how heavy or light it is in your hand and what the surface texture feels like under your fingers.
4. Distract yourself
There are several ways to distract your mind so it stops thinking about whatever it is that is worrying you and focuses on something that isn’t emotionally driven.
- You could pick a color. Look around the room for all the different shades of that color.
- Count backwards by 7 (starting at 100)
- Dance around the kitchen like nobody's watching
- Go for a walk or run
- Clean an area of your home
5. Aromatherapy
Essential oils are great ways to feel grounded. Simply inhaling essential oils, diffusing, or applying to the insides of your wrists, temples or back of your neck. Taking some deep inhales and exhales of many of the tree oils will help you to feel connected and grounded. My favorites for grounding are Northern Lights Black Spruce, Pine, Grand Fir, or Frankincense.
Essential oils are great ways to feel grounded. Simply inhaling essential oils, diffusing, or applying to the insides of your wrists, temples or back of your neck. Taking some deep inhales and exhales of many of the tree oils will help you to feel connected and grounded. My favorites for grounding are Northern Lights Black Spruce, Pine, Grand Fir, or Frankincense.
I hope these grounding tips help you to feel more connected and at peace. If you would like to receive more tips on self-care & self-love I have a free group where women empower each other to love their imperfectly perfect selves. Join us! www.imperfectlyperfectyou.ca
Want my free self-love guide? I have a free 10 page guide that helps you to overcome self-critical thoughts and be brave enough to pursue your goals! Visit my home page to receive your free guide! www.martinahealthandwellness.com
Want to take a deep dive into personal development in my 8 week program - Find your Magic: A journey to self-love through journaling. Click here to read more about my program & if it would be the right fit for you. This program is half-off until end of December! www.martinahealthandwellness.com/page/find-your-magic
Sending you Love & Light...until next time.
Martina
My opinion of what self-love is has changed over the years. Growing up I thought that I could only love myself if I looked a certain way, had certain friends, hit a certain number on the scale. My view of self-love had nothing to do with self-love. I hated my body a lot of my teens and 20's. My outlook needed to change. I am grateful for my journey that has brought me to today. Today I love myself. I am content with myself. I now know that I don't need to look a certain way, have certain friends or hit a certain number on a scale. That doesn't define my love for ME...I choose to love me right now...in this moment. These are some tips I have learned along my journey & hope that it can help others if they are feelin' less than love for themselves and their bodies.
1. Find Gratitude
I know...I know. It seems the average answer for personal development these days always comes back to gratitude. Finding gratitude has changed my view on myself, my situation, my body & how I show up for life.
Step 1: Get a journal! I look at it as free therapy! Writing down your gratitude list is very therapeutic and insightful.
Step 2: Each day write down 5 or more things that you am grateful for. I usually try to include 1 thing about my body that I am grateful for...which has helped my self-love. For example, right now I am grateful for my hands and fingers that are allowing me to type this message to you. There is always something to be grateful for. Be creative in the ways you can find gratitude for a multitude of things. A deep breath of fresh air, the sound of Christmas music, laughter, a family that loves and supports you. The possibilities are endless.
2. Make your body happy
When learning to love your body we need to find connection to our bodies. You want to keep that gorgeous body of yours feeling energised and full of vitality. So it’s important that as part of your self-love routine you do things that make you feel great in your body; whether that’s yoga, running, walking or dancing like nobody's watching! Find something that makes you excited to move your body!
I know...I know. It seems the average answer for personal development these days always comes back to gratitude. Finding gratitude has changed my view on myself, my situation, my body & how I show up for life.
Step 1: Get a journal! I look at it as free therapy! Writing down your gratitude list is very therapeutic and insightful.
Step 2: Each day write down 5 or more things that you am grateful for. I usually try to include 1 thing about my body that I am grateful for...which has helped my self-love. For example, right now I am grateful for my hands and fingers that are allowing me to type this message to you. There is always something to be grateful for. Be creative in the ways you can find gratitude for a multitude of things. A deep breath of fresh air, the sound of Christmas music, laughter, a family that loves and supports you. The possibilities are endless.
2. Make your body happy
When learning to love your body we need to find connection to our bodies. You want to keep that gorgeous body of yours feeling energised and full of vitality. So it’s important that as part of your self-love routine you do things that make you feel great in your body; whether that’s yoga, running, walking or dancing like nobody's watching! Find something that makes you excited to move your body!
3. Express Yourself
Showing up as your authentic self and feeling free to be totally you. Whether it’s dancing, writing, singing, painting, acting, sculpting, cooking, making music, sketching, beading, pottery or poetry – everyone has something that does it for them. It’s often something we did naturally as children. It’s always something that makes us feel fully alive. Come back to those things you used to love doing...that is truly where you heart is happy & content. So what is it for you? Whether it’s unleashing your inner dancing queen on the dance floor, singing like no-one’s listening or painting in big bold brush strokes, just for the fun of it, it’s essential that you make time to do the things that allow you to really express yourself from the heart.
Bonus TIP: Did you know that wearing certain crystals like amethyst, rose quartz, citrine or sunstone can provide healing energy to you to help increase happiness, self-love & self-esteem? Check out this amethyst, amazonite & sandalwood bracelet. Perfect to bring some good vibes to your self-love journey. Click here to shop.
Showing up as your authentic self and feeling free to be totally you. Whether it’s dancing, writing, singing, painting, acting, sculpting, cooking, making music, sketching, beading, pottery or poetry – everyone has something that does it for them. It’s often something we did naturally as children. It’s always something that makes us feel fully alive. Come back to those things you used to love doing...that is truly where you heart is happy & content. So what is it for you? Whether it’s unleashing your inner dancing queen on the dance floor, singing like no-one’s listening or painting in big bold brush strokes, just for the fun of it, it’s essential that you make time to do the things that allow you to really express yourself from the heart.
Bonus TIP: Did you know that wearing certain crystals like amethyst, rose quartz, citrine or sunstone can provide healing energy to you to help increase happiness, self-love & self-esteem? Check out this amethyst, amazonite & sandalwood bracelet. Perfect to bring some good vibes to your self-love journey. Click here to shop.I hope this helps you to discover some different ways we can start to truly love ourselves & nurture our mind, body & spirit. If your looking for more self-love ideas, we would love to have you in our FREE group where women empower each other to love their imperfectly perfect selves. www.imperfectlyperfectyou.ca
If you would like to go on a journey of self-love discovery with me as your guide....I would love to help you find your magic. My 8 week program will help you to gain self-love without losing a pound! In my own journey I have realized that self-love starts from the inside....as a number of the scale doesn't magically make you love yourself. We discover many different approaches to self-love through Yoga, meditation, affirmations & journaling. www.martinahealthandwellness.com/page/find-your-magic
Have the best week you guys!
Sending you Love & Light,
Martina
This photo will always come with a lot of emotions. I can remember exactly how I felt in this moment. I was battling my inner critic. I mustered up enough courage to wear the skirt, the boots & the silky top. I don't remember feeling like I looked in this photo. I felt fat, like the biggest person in the room, like my clothes just enhanced my flaws. My thoughts were lying to me. Looking at this photo now I see a tall beautiful young woman who should have felt confident & excited to head to the school dance with her friends. Instead I felt discouraged, uncomfortable & unable to see anything other than my imperfections.How did I change this?
At 37 years old...when I look at myself in photos I no longer choose to see the imperfections, the flaws, the areas of my body that are supposed to be different according to what we have been taught by society. My body is unique, imperfectly perfect & exactly how it is supposed to be. I choose to find gratitude for my body & that has changed everything. I have done this through a lot of hard work, personal development, yoga, meditation & journaling practice that has changed the way I show up for the world. Through finding self-love I found the confidence, self-esteem & self-worth to know I deserve to live a life I love, a life that inspires others & life that doesn't need permission or approval to love my body.I want this for all women. I want women to find this love for their imperfectly perfect selves. My 8 week program helps to you gain that self-love without losing a pound.
Find your magic
Find your magic
Want to join a FREE group of women that empower each other to love their imperfectly perfect selves just as they are in this moment?
Want to learn more? Visit my youtube channel to get self-love chats, meditations, yoga practices...all things health and wellness...
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I invite you to do a couple things with me to help relax our body, mind & spirit before we dive into why I think you should try meditation (if you haven't already).Relax your shoulders, unclench your jaw, allow your tongue to fall to the bottom of your mouth. Take 3 deep cleansing breaths.
Meditation is simply described to engage in contemplation or reflection. This simple practice seems to be a lot harder than it seems. People these days have a hard time slowing down, clearing their minds, taking time to pause. Life has become so busy-driven that people lose sight of the art of being in the present moment. If you are hesitant to try out this practice...here my 3 top reasons why I think meditation can change your life!
Meditation is simply described to engage in contemplation or reflection. This simple practice seems to be a lot harder than it seems. People these days have a hard time slowing down, clearing their minds, taking time to pause. Life has become so busy-driven that people lose sight of the art of being in the present moment. If you are hesitant to try out this practice...here my 3 top reasons why I think meditation can change your life!
1. Reduce Stress
When we experience stress, our bodies automatically react in ways that prepare us to fight or run. This is your body's stress response, otherwise known as your fight-or-flight response. In some cases of extreme danger, this physical response is helpful. However, a prolonged state of such agitation can cause physical damage to every part of the body. Mental and physical stress causes increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This produces many of the harmful effects of stress like distruption of sleep, depression, anxiety, increase in blood pressure, fatique and brain fog.
Meditation affects the body in exactly the opposite ways that stress does—by triggering the body's relaxation response or what I like to call a rest-and-digest response. It restores the body to a calm state, helping the body repair itself and preventing new damage from the physical effects of stress. It can calm your mind and body by quieting the stress-induced thoughts that keep your body's stress response triggered.
2. Increases your self-awareness & self-love
Some forms of meditation may help you develop a stronger understanding of yourself, helping you grow into your best version of yourself. There are many different awareness and self-love meditations that focus on helping you develop a greater understanding of yourself and how you relate to those around you. Meditation can also help you to recognize thoughts that may be harmful or self-defeating. The idea is that as you gain greater awareness of your thought habits, you can steer them toward more constructive patterns. By practicing meditations that focus on self-love you are able to have a better awareness of getting to know yourself better which can be a starting point on making other positive changes in your life.
3. Can generate kindness
We all know that kindness is something that we always need more of! Some types of meditation may particularly increase positive feelings and actions toward yourself and others. Finding a loving-kindness meditation, allows you to begin with developing kind thoughts and feelings toward yourself. As you continue your practice, you learn to extend this kindness and forgiveness externally, first to friends, then acquaintances, and ultimately enemies. This type of meditation can increase your feelings of kindness, compassion & empathy towards others.
Want to try meditation? Head over to my youtube channel & find some of my free meditations!
free meditations
When we experience stress, our bodies automatically react in ways that prepare us to fight or run. This is your body's stress response, otherwise known as your fight-or-flight response. In some cases of extreme danger, this physical response is helpful. However, a prolonged state of such agitation can cause physical damage to every part of the body. Mental and physical stress causes increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This produces many of the harmful effects of stress like distruption of sleep, depression, anxiety, increase in blood pressure, fatique and brain fog.
Meditation affects the body in exactly the opposite ways that stress does—by triggering the body's relaxation response or what I like to call a rest-and-digest response. It restores the body to a calm state, helping the body repair itself and preventing new damage from the physical effects of stress. It can calm your mind and body by quieting the stress-induced thoughts that keep your body's stress response triggered.
2. Increases your self-awareness & self-love
Some forms of meditation may help you develop a stronger understanding of yourself, helping you grow into your best version of yourself. There are many different awareness and self-love meditations that focus on helping you develop a greater understanding of yourself and how you relate to those around you. Meditation can also help you to recognize thoughts that may be harmful or self-defeating. The idea is that as you gain greater awareness of your thought habits, you can steer them toward more constructive patterns. By practicing meditations that focus on self-love you are able to have a better awareness of getting to know yourself better which can be a starting point on making other positive changes in your life.
3. Can generate kindness
We all know that kindness is something that we always need more of! Some types of meditation may particularly increase positive feelings and actions toward yourself and others. Finding a loving-kindness meditation, allows you to begin with developing kind thoughts and feelings toward yourself. As you continue your practice, you learn to extend this kindness and forgiveness externally, first to friends, then acquaintances, and ultimately enemies. This type of meditation can increase your feelings of kindness, compassion & empathy towards others.
Want to try meditation? Head over to my youtube channel & find some of my free meditations!
free meditations
Want to get more tips and access my free community of women who empower each other to love their imperfectly perfect selves?
join us
We often are told to be grateful. Be thankful. The standard answer for that is usually....I am grateful for my family, my friends, a roof over my head. While all these things are indeed things to be grateful for...when was the last time you were grateful for your body? Body gratitude is a reflection that one can make on noticing their bodies in a positive way. Women especially tend to be their biggest critic and often criticize and shame their bodies, which then in turn creates the mindset that my body is flawed, there is something wrong with me, I need to change.
I want to end this cycle. Women need to appreciate what their bodies are doing for them everyday! Our bodies give us so much everyday, and we rarely take the time to show the appreciation for the amazing things our bodies do for us everyday! Show your body some compassion! Wake up each day being grateful for something your body did for you today. For example, I am grateful for my fingers that are allowing me to type this very message to you. I am grateful for my mind that allows me to have thoughts and feelings.
Why Body Gratitude??
Practicing body-gratitude is all about shifting focus from the way that your body looks, to thinking about all of the incredible things that your body does for you everyday. It’s about learning to see that our bodies truly are meant to be our home, not a barometer of our worth or indicative of our value.
YOU are worthy and valuable despite of what your body looks like! (Say that again).
A amazing quote from Glennon Doyle Melton really stands out when speaking of our bodies...
"Stop spending all day obsessing, cursing, perfecting your body like it’s all you’ve got to offer the world. Your body is not your art, it’s your paintbrush. Whether your paintbrush is a tall paintbrush or a thin paintbrush or a stocky paintbrush or a scratched up paintbrush is completely irrelevant. What is relevant is that YOU HAVE A PAINTBRUSH which can be used to transfer your insides onto the canvas of your life — where others can see it and be inspired and comforted by it.”
Your body is your force of creativity that allows to you paint all the beauty that you want to see in the world.
Self-Compassion
If you are struggling with a focus on the appearance of your body, it’s so important to be kind to yourself. You are definitely not alone in this. However, you can work to take steps to start to improve your body-image.
Additionally, it’s important to note that when thinking about body-gratitude there are many people who struggle with chronic illness, health conditions, and physical disabilities. While, it may seem difficult to practice body gratitude. It’s helpful to acknowledge that it’s understandable that are struggling with this, and then work to shift focus for the abilities that you do have and for the things that your body does for you.
If you are struggling with negative body image and it’s impacting your life, it’s so important to seek help from a professional. Seeking help when you are suffering is a sign of true strength, not weakness.
After all, life is too short to spend your time hating your body and letting the way that you feel about your appearance, keep you from enjoying your incredible life.
Here’s some ideas that you could try:
- Write a letter to a part of your body that you struggle with. You could start by sharing some of the unhelpful thoughts that you typically have about that body part, and then finish by expressing your gratitude for all that it does for you.
- Start a body gratitude journal. Write down 3-5 things that your body did for you today. Notice how your mindset changes as you focus on positive body thoughts, rather than negative ones.
- Join a self-love or body-love group. There are many groups online that are beautiful communities that share the self-love or body love focus. If you want to join my FREE group we would love to have you!
Join us!
- I speak about this topic on my youtube channel. Click here to watch!
Practicing body-gratitude is all about shifting focus from the way that your body looks, to thinking about all of the incredible things that your body does for you everyday. It’s about learning to see that our bodies truly are meant to be our home, not a barometer of our worth or indicative of our value.
YOU are worthy and valuable despite of what your body looks like! (Say that again).
A amazing quote from Glennon Doyle Melton really stands out when speaking of our bodies...
"Stop spending all day obsessing, cursing, perfecting your body like it’s all you’ve got to offer the world. Your body is not your art, it’s your paintbrush. Whether your paintbrush is a tall paintbrush or a thin paintbrush or a stocky paintbrush or a scratched up paintbrush is completely irrelevant. What is relevant is that YOU HAVE A PAINTBRUSH which can be used to transfer your insides onto the canvas of your life — where others can see it and be inspired and comforted by it.”
Your body is your force of creativity that allows to you paint all the beauty that you want to see in the world.
Self-Compassion
If you are struggling with a focus on the appearance of your body, it’s so important to be kind to yourself. You are definitely not alone in this. However, you can work to take steps to start to improve your body-image.
Additionally, it’s important to note that when thinking about body-gratitude there are many people who struggle with chronic illness, health conditions, and physical disabilities. While, it may seem difficult to practice body gratitude. It’s helpful to acknowledge that it’s understandable that are struggling with this, and then work to shift focus for the abilities that you do have and for the things that your body does for you.
If you are struggling with negative body image and it’s impacting your life, it’s so important to seek help from a professional. Seeking help when you are suffering is a sign of true strength, not weakness.
After all, life is too short to spend your time hating your body and letting the way that you feel about your appearance, keep you from enjoying your incredible life.
Here’s some ideas that you could try:
- Write a letter to a part of your body that you struggle with. You could start by sharing some of the unhelpful thoughts that you typically have about that body part, and then finish by expressing your gratitude for all that it does for you.
- Start a body gratitude journal. Write down 3-5 things that your body did for you today. Notice how your mindset changes as you focus on positive body thoughts, rather than negative ones.
- Join a self-love or body-love group. There are many groups online that are beautiful communities that share the self-love or body love focus. If you want to join my FREE group we would love to have you!
Join us!
- I speak about this topic on my youtube channel. Click here to watch!
