5 Valentine's Day Tips for More Love in 2012

In grade school, we learned that Valentine's Day was the only truly acceptable day to express and receive love. We also learned that it was only as good as the number of construction paper valentines we received. What a recipe for disappointment! Everyday should have its own expressions of love, and (thank goodness) your worth is not measured by those chalky candy hearts. This Valentine's Day lets change up the paradigm, shall we? Devote this Valentine's Day to your one true soul mate. You!

We all want love. We want to be surrounded by loved ones, appreciated in our communities, and we want to feel comfortable being ourselves wherever we are. So, what's stopping us? You must love yourself to truly love others. Ah-ha! We don't actually need construction paper valentines. We need self-love.

We all want love, but we forget that all the seven aspects of wellness must be strong in order to give and to receive love as fully as possible. In order to make this Valentine's Day about honoring you, we've suggested five love-ly activities. Use them to fill this day or this entire year with the love you seek and deserve.

1) Spend Quality Time with Yourself

Take three hours of your Valentine's Day just for you. Take this time away from the television, away from answering e-mails, and away from the kids. Reconnect with yourself. We get so busy that days, even weeks can go by without us checking in with ourselves. This might seem boring or confusing at first, but silence precedes creativity and imagination.

For those of you that don't fall asleep immediately, from relying so much on your adrenaline to complete your tasks for the week, fill this time up by doing something that makes you feel beautiful, happy and loved. Take a walk, meditate or do some gentle yoga to get the blood moving. Or, if you feel inspired, finish a project in the house, journal, explore your creative side by painting. Every time you take time to explore your creative self, you are enhancing your own emotional wellness and increasing your capacity to love others for their gifts.

2) Eat a Healthy Meal

Much of how we feel during the week is a reflection of how we eat. This Valentine's Day, eat a nourishing meal that will energize and uplift you.

For some guidelines, eat a meal with 1/3 clean protein and 2/3 vegetables. Do not cook with oils or salt, but add these two things on after you cook. Drizzle plenty of raw oils on your food once it is done; this will provide you with much needed Essential Fatty Acids.

Use salt that hasn't been bleached or dyed, like Celtic Grey or Himalayan Pink salt. These salts have four electrolytes, as opposed to table salt that has one, and eating healthy salt does wonders for your pancreas, intestines and blood. These simple changes will make you feel light and energetic after eating, Table salt, which is highly acidic, causes weight retention and bloating. Cooking oils turns them into saturated fats, which are also acidic and can drag your body down. As a head's up, table salt is present in all cheeses, olives, and in most restaurant foods.

Finish the meal with some dates, cut in half, filled with mascarpone and topped with a soaked almond and cinnamon. Yum!

3) Take A Bath

Treat yourself! Everyone can benefit from a relaxing hot bath. If you have a bathtub, stop putting it off and jump in. You can add bath salts, candles and bubbles to your bath if you'd like, or just keep it simple with Epsom Salt. Co
2/13/2012 11:59:56 PM
123Feel.Better
Written by 123Feel.Better
Hello from the 123FeelBetter team. We are humans. This means we are prone to bumps, bruises, doubts, laughter, gas, confusion, infatuation and forgetfulness – just like you. It also means we know what its like to feel bad, great, bored and all of the things in between. There are those of us who are tall, those who are ...
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