18
Feb
In the bathroom, every day, I do one part of my morning routine that has healed and continues to heal many of my old wounds. It will probably sound childish, and unsophisticated, when compared to other practices, but it has changed my life.
It is simple– as most life-transforming practices tend to be–but it’s not necessarily easy. In order for you to understand its significance I need to give you a little background.
When I was a teenager I had some serious self-hate issues, many of which revolved around my physical appearance. Unfortunately, this is not rare, and many of you will probably be able to relate. During this time I often over exercised, and under ate in my quest for that perfect, thin body.
But my biggest source of pain was my face. I was convinced I had an ugly, no, more like gross face. Things were so bad that I wouldn’t wear my hair up because I wanted to hide my face as much as possible. I hated passing by mirrors because it would pain me to look at myself, and I absolutely hated taking pictures.
Years passed and things got better, mostly because I was just too busy to worry about it. I had kids and I worked and went to school so there was no time to obsess about my face. But secretly that part of me that was ashamed of it was still there, in the shadows, but still present.
Seven years ago I immersed myself in yoga, and meditation, and somewhere along the way I read a book, I believe it was by self-help author, Cheryl Richardson, where she talks about self-love. One of her suggestions was to lovingly look at yourself in the mirror and express how beautiful you are. For some reason, even though, most of me cringed as I read her suggestion I decided to try it.
The first time I tried this I was literally in pain. I couldn’t really do it. First, I felt completely embarrassed even though I was by myself, and then I was aware of how much self-loathing I still had. Interestingly, the fact that this process was so painful, and I hated it so much, pushed me to keep trying it. Not because I’m a masochist but because I knew that this pain was showing me an area that really needed help.
I made a commitment to do this practice every day for a year. I would be lying if I said it got easier overnight, but slowly, day-by-day, it started to get less painful. I had a sense that as I did this, I was replacing with love, all of the hurtful things I had ever said to myself.
Fast forward seven years and this routine is now one of the most loving, consistent things I do for myself. Back when I started I never would have guessed it would become a permanent part of my morning routine, but now I can’t imagine skipping it. Although, the most healing aspect has been to my self-esteem, I also really believe that it has actually made my face more radiant. This isn’t the reason I continue to do this practice but it’s kind of cool too (now that I understand how words affect our cells I am not surprised).
Perhaps you already do some version of this practice. If not, maybe this will inspire you to try it. If you do, remember that any resistance or pain you feel is showing you areas that need more love. And as you heal these areas you are making more space for joy and abundance in your life.
Below I share a close-up look of what this practice looks like for me, but I encourage you to follow your heart as you come up with your perfect routine.
Lisa’s Morning Beauty Routine
I start by washing my face with cool water. As I do this, in my mind, I thank the water for its service, and I say loving things to my face. I do this as if I was bathing a baby, or a delicate flower, with love and tenderness. Then I dry my face lovingly and put on moisturizer that I absolutely love, and is great for my very sensitive skin (I’ll give you the name at the end if you’re interested). As I massage the moisturizer into my face I internally thank Spirit for my beautiful face. So it sounds something like this:
Thank you Spirit for my beautiful face. Thank you for shining your light through my face. Thank you for my healthy, radiant skin. Thank you Spirit for releasing any negative energy from my face.
Author and angel expert Doreen Virtue suggests the following affirmation, which I often include, “ My inner light radiates through every pore and cell in my body.”
As I do this I literally feel my face responding with joy. I know you might think it’s my imagination, but to me it feels like my cells start smiling.
When I am done I get really close to the mirror, look at myself in the eyes, and say, “I love you Lisa.” When I say this I understand that it is coming from a deep place inside, my true essence, my soul. Yes, I certainly still have parts that don’t love me, but my soul loves me unconditionally, and this is who is saying it.
That’s it. The whole process takes a very short time. But it is incredibly powerful.
Like I said at the beginning of this piece, all this might seem silly, and maybe even self-indulgent compared to other things like meditating and channeling love to the world. But I have learned, both through my own healing journey, and as I help my clients, that self-love is the key to authentic, love of others and the world. It isn’t easy, which is why so many of us put it off, or ignore it all together, but I believe it’s the key to our transformation and the worlds’.
Ps The name of the moisturizer I use is Crème De Rose: Heavenly Moisturizer by Simply Divine Botanicals.
PSS If you have your own self-love routine that you’d like to share I’d love to hear it!
It is simple– as most life-transforming practices tend to be–but it’s not necessarily easy. In order for you to understand its significance I need to give you a little background.
When I was a teenager I had some serious self-hate issues, many of which revolved around my physical appearance. Unfortunately, this is not rare, and many of you will probably be able to relate. During this time I often over exercised, and under ate in my quest for that perfect, thin body.
But my biggest source of pain was my face. I was convinced I had an ugly, no, more like gross face. Things were so bad that I wouldn’t wear my hair up because I wanted to hide my face as much as possible. I hated passing by mirrors because it would pain me to look at myself, and I absolutely hated taking pictures.
Years passed and things got better, mostly because I was just too busy to worry about it. I had kids and I worked and went to school so there was no time to obsess about my face. But secretly that part of me that was ashamed of it was still there, in the shadows, but still present.
Seven years ago I immersed myself in yoga, and meditation, and somewhere along the way I read a book, I believe it was by self-help author, Cheryl Richardson, where she talks about self-love. One of her suggestions was to lovingly look at yourself in the mirror and express how beautiful you are. For some reason, even though, most of me cringed as I read her suggestion I decided to try it.
The first time I tried this I was literally in pain. I couldn’t really do it. First, I felt completely embarrassed even though I was by myself, and then I was aware of how much self-loathing I still had. Interestingly, the fact that this process was so painful, and I hated it so much, pushed me to keep trying it. Not because I’m a masochist but because I knew that this pain was showing me an area that really needed help.
I made a commitment to do this practice every day for a year. I would be lying if I said it got easier overnight, but slowly, day-by-day, it started to get less painful. I had a sense that as I did this, I was replacing with love, all of the hurtful things I had ever said to myself.
Fast forward seven years and this routine is now one of the most loving, consistent things I do for myself. Back when I started I never would have guessed it would become a permanent part of my morning routine, but now I can’t imagine skipping it. Although, the most healing aspect has been to my self-esteem, I also really believe that it has actually made my face more radiant. This isn’t the reason I continue to do this practice but it’s kind of cool too (now that I understand how words affect our cells I am not surprised).
Perhaps you already do some version of this practice. If not, maybe this will inspire you to try it. If you do, remember that any resistance or pain you feel is showing you areas that need more love. And as you heal these areas you are making more space for joy and abundance in your life.
Below I share a close-up look of what this practice looks like for me, but I encourage you to follow your heart as you come up with your perfect routine.
Lisa’s Morning Beauty Routine
I start by washing my face with cool water. As I do this, in my mind, I thank the water for its service, and I say loving things to my face. I do this as if I was bathing a baby, or a delicate flower, with love and tenderness. Then I dry my face lovingly and put on moisturizer that I absolutely love, and is great for my very sensitive skin (I’ll give you the name at the end if you’re interested). As I massage the moisturizer into my face I internally thank Spirit for my beautiful face. So it sounds something like this:
Thank you Spirit for my beautiful face. Thank you for shining your light through my face. Thank you for my healthy, radiant skin. Thank you Spirit for releasing any negative energy from my face.
Author and angel expert Doreen Virtue suggests the following affirmation, which I often include, “ My inner light radiates through every pore and cell in my body.”
As I do this I literally feel my face responding with joy. I know you might think it’s my imagination, but to me it feels like my cells start smiling.
When I am done I get really close to the mirror, look at myself in the eyes, and say, “I love you Lisa.” When I say this I understand that it is coming from a deep place inside, my true essence, my soul. Yes, I certainly still have parts that don’t love me, but my soul loves me unconditionally, and this is who is saying it.
That’s it. The whole process takes a very short time. But it is incredibly powerful.
Like I said at the beginning of this piece, all this might seem silly, and maybe even self-indulgent compared to other things like meditating and channeling love to the world. But I have learned, both through my own healing journey, and as I help my clients, that self-love is the key to authentic, love of others and the world. It isn’t easy, which is why so many of us put it off, or ignore it all together, but I believe it’s the key to our transformation and the worlds’.
Ps The name of the moisturizer I use is Crème De Rose: Heavenly Moisturizer by Simply Divine Botanicals.
PSS If you have your own self-love routine that you’d like to share I’d love to hear it!