Day 64: Love the Sh*** Out of Yourself

In the throws of motherhood, it is easy to lose oneself. It is easy to feel as if your entire existence is only in relation to the baby. Reconnecting with your own self can be an important step out of the Fourth Trimester and back into the world.

Even before I became an expectant mom, one of the hardest challenges I was ever issued was by one of my meditation teachers, who ordered me to, "Get on the cushion and love the sh** out of yourself." He could see how much I suffered at my own hand. So that is what I task you with. You do not have to earn that love by being a super mama or an amazing wife or a friend to all. Just in your existence, you deserve that love.

Find yourself balking at this? Getting squeamish? Thinking you might skip this practice? Then this one is especially for you. As a former skeptic turned convert, I will tell you from personal experience that those of us who struggle the most with these kinds of practices, who find them cheesy and uncomfortable, often benefit the most. So let it go for just a minute and in the privacy of your own home, after you have read this through, sit back and close your eyes.

Bring your attention to your breath.

And offer yourself this:

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be peaceful.

May I feel love.

Pause between each statement and let them soak into the entire body, to the cellular level. From the pinky finger all the way down to the toes.

Then repeat three or more times.

Consider other wishes you have for yourself, and offer those too.

Tune into the body and notice what that love physically feels like. Allow those sensations to grow in intensity. Do not turn away, but bask in the love.

So go on. Give yourself some self love, you radiant being, you.