The Importance of Self Love

By Rippan Sandhu

Last Valentine’s Day, we focused our blog on the benefits of couples massage, this month we wanted to follow our January theme of loving yourself.

Ayurveda has many wonderful insights for the meaning and practice of self-love.
Each of us have 3 primary relationships in our lives.

Our relationships with objects, including our car, house, phone, computer … right down to what’s in your kitchen cupboards .

The second relationship we all have are those with other people. Our husbands, wives, children, mums, dads, colleagues, friends, bosses, all the people involved in our live.

Finally, the third relationship Ayurveda teaches us about the importance of cultivating. This is the relationship we have with our own higher self.

Developing a strong foundation of a relationship with our higher self is critical not only to our spiritual journey, but to our physical one, they are both connected. How you love yourself affects all aspects of your life, health included.

With that in mind we have included tips on self-love for each of your doshas. If you’re not sure what dosha you are simply do our 3 minute quiz here.

SELF CARE TIPS FOR YOUR DOSHA

VATA DOSHA
As Vata, you crave new experiences and excitement, but without routine you can quickly become overstimulated and thrown out of balance.

• Get plenty of rest by choosing an earlier bedtime.
• Start your day with self-abhyanga (self massage). Try calming oils such as lavender or clary sage.
• Follow a Vata-balancing diet with consistent meal times.
Warm up! Drink lots of warm fluids throughout the day and a glass of warm milk before bed.

PITTA DOSHA
The fire element makes pittas full of passion, focus, and powerful energy at their best. While this makes you great leaders and motivators, all that drive can lead to pushing yourself too hard and forgetting to take time for rest and relaxation.

• Take time for rest and relaxation. Resist the urge to overbook yourself or take on back to back tasks. Allow space for   doing, doing nothing at all. Resting is an important part of your self-love.
• Eat a Pitta- balancing diet. Stay away from spicy foods and caffeine as these will cause aggravation. Surround yourself with nature. When you can’t, think about peaceful and soothing scenery to help wind down.
• Everything in moderation. Finding moderation in all aspects of life can be difficult, but doing so is incredibly healing for pitta types.

KAPHA DOSHA
Kapha’s are naturally easy-going and relaxed. While this allows kaphas to be the most stable and grounded of the doshas, you are often in need of stimulation and new experiences. An important aspect of kapha self-love can be reminding yourself to move your body every day because without physical activity, Kaphas can become bored and depressed.

• Get moving! Resist the urge to lounge in bed all day. Breaking a sweat can release toxins and boost your mood.
• Breathe deeply. Incorporate breathing activities to increase metabolism and stimulate brain activity.
• Follow a Kapha-balancing diet. Avoid refined sugar and alcohol.
• Dry brush to stimulate circulation
• Focus on what brings you happiness. Indulge in activities you do just for yourself, make time to be happy.