5 ways you can practice self-care this Valentine’s Day

5 ways you can practice self-care this Valentine’s Day

For many, Valentine’s Day is a day to give and receive love from loved ones. And while it’s important to show other’s how much you admire and appreciate them, it is important to remember that you are also your own Valentine! 

Bestselling author, former immunologist, and leading mind-body wellness expert, Jaya Jaya Myra, states that finding ways to support your own mind, body and soul is the perfect Valentine treat to help you feel refreshed, rejuvenated and happy. 

“We spend so much time focusing on others that many people forget to take care of themselves on or around Valentine’s Day. Well, focusing on you is the most important thing you can do. One, it’ll make you more attractive in the eyes of others when you have a healthy self-respect and two, whenever you feel better, you give other people permission to feel better about themselves too. You can spread love just by being a source of it to yourself.” says Jaya Jaya Myra.

Here are Jaya Jaya Myra’s top 5 ways you can practice self-care this Valentine’s Day:

Tip #1: Go for the Dark Chocolate – dark chocolate is not only an aphrodisiac, it also stimulates dopamine production in the body which helps elevate mood and wellbeing naturally. Win-win!

Tip #2: Make a Gratitude Jar – Get an empty jar and a notepad. Start making small notes each time you truly feel happy or grateful for something. Write it down, then add these notes to your jar. Come the end of the year or next year on Valentine’s Day, you’ll have hundreds of messages to yourself showing you just how awesome life can be!

Tip #3: Do Something Extra Special Today! – Maybe that means get a mani/pedi, get your hair done, get a massage, or even hire a maid to come clean your house! Splurge a little to show yourself some self love. After all, you are worth it. 

Tip #4: Boost Libido Naturally (or decrease it, if you want) – Yes, there are many foods that can boost or decrease your libido naturally. If you want to get your sexy time on, you can go for some staples including celery or celery juice, ginger or ginger juice (note, those two combined are heavenly), pomegranates, saffron, apples, or fenugreek. If you want to slow it down and decrease libido, grab a salad, mint,  or .licorice These can help keep you cool and out of a funk if you’re single or spending the day alone.

Tip #5 Meditation. Last but not least be gentle with yourself and focus on your metal health and stress level.

Meditating can be a quick and effective deterrent of all types of stress, and you don’t have to meditate for hours to see these effects. Even a few minutes a day makes a big difference. It’s about how and when you meditate that makes it effective at reducing stress.

Meditation in the morning helps to set a level pace for the day, whereas meditating before bed can help people unwind and process the events of the day, and also get a better night’s sleep.  

Stress is insidious and has so many negative effects on mental, emotional and physical health and yes self care!

What are some meditation practices that we can utilize at home to help reduce and prevent stress and self care?

When at home take at least 15 minutes a day to sit and meditate, using a technique that is in alignment with your unique constitution. By picking a technique that aligns with your temperament, you will find your practice reaps results more quickly and that you’ll actually enjoy the process of meditating. 

During your work day, take 3 minutes to sit and just focus on lengthening and deepening the breath. This in and of itself can help the mind slow down, relax, and regain focus. It’s quick and you can do this a couple times a day and see a tremendous difference in lowering work-related stress, quickly and effectively.