Wrap Yourself In A Blanket Of Love

Happy Monday! 

I hope that this letter finds you well. 🙂 

I invite you to give yourself a hug and say one kind thing to yourself, right here, right now. 

How did that feel in your body? 

Comforting? Soothing? Unnatural? Weird? 

Take note of what came up for you as you gave yourself a hug. 

There’s no right or wrong response.  

What I experience in my body may be similar or completely different from what you experienced. 

With this in mind, I invite you to approach your response with a lens of curiosity.

Become fascinated and interested in your responses, no matter what your response was. 

This is your mind and body communicating an important message to you. 

This communication can offer important clues in relation to what’s happening internally. 

I will provide a personal example to illustrate my point. 

I joined a public yoga class (as a student) a few years ago. 

The theme for the practice was self-compassion. 

I remember the poses feeling so good in my body, especially the heart and hip openers. 

We ended our practice with a self-hug and words of kindness (similar to the practice that I invited you to do just now).

I remember the hug feeling warm, inviting, nurturing and safe. 

I felt a gentle stretch in my upper back, which felt lovely as I carried a lot of tension in this area of my body. 

The kind words…well that was a different story. 

I felt an uneasy feeling in my gut. 

It was comparable to that feeling that some of us may experience following a break-up. I feel like that’s the best way I can describe what I was feeling. 

So why did I feel this uneasy sensation? Because I felt as if I had nothing kind to say to myself at that moment. 

As I sat there trying to think of one kind thing to say to myself, I thought, “When was the last time I said something kind to myself?” 

I didn’t have an answer to this question. 

I could feel the tears coming to the surface. 

It became apparent that the uneasy feeling in my gut was connected to feelings of sadness or hurt.

Now, why did I struggle to think of one kind thing to say to myself? 

Because self-judgment and criticism felt more natural to me.

My mind had a tendency to gravitate towards judgment and criticism. 

Words of kindness felt unnatural.  

I was great at being a kind friend to others. 

However, I did not extend myself the same courtesy. 

It was a tough realization, but an important one. 

I look back at this moment as a gift; a gift from my mind and body.

It was at this moment that I realized that I am worthy of compassion and kindness. 

Now, do I slip up and forget these important learnings?

You bet I do! I am human! 

Rewiring old thought patterns and tendencies takes time and practice. 

Every time that I show up on my mat, I am reminded that I am worthy of compassion and kindness. 

I am learning to be a kind friend to myself. 

When you wrap yourself in a blanket of love today (or whenever you decide to join our free class), I invite you to reflect upon how you can be a better friend to yourself. Perhaps you take a moment to write about your key learnings in a journal or a notebook following today’s practice. 

For today’s class, please bring 2 to 3 blankets with you as we will be getting super comfy and cozy. This is my favorite kind of yoga practice!!! 🙂

Join me on the mat for our Restorative Blanket Yoga practice. Click on the image below and I’ll meet ya there! 

Well that’s all I got for you this week! 

In my next letter to you, I’ll share details about a project that I’ve been working on behind-the-scenes!

I’m so excited!!! 

I hope that you have a lovely rest of your day. 

Take care, 

~Rachel xoxo