This day is all about looooove, so what better way to practice love than to meditate?! Meditation is a huge self-love tool because it helps our mind find some peace and space. However, it can also be a powerful tool to focus on your love for someone else. Having a special someone in mind while you meditate gives your meditation a deeper purpose and meaning–it will help you focus. So, pick someone to focus on (it could be yourself or even your dog) and let’s meditate!
- Take a few deep breaths in through the nose and out the mouth and close the eyes.
- To help you concentrate, let’s do a breath-counting practice: inhale for a count of three, hold your breath for a count of three, and exhale for a count of three. Repeat this for a minute or so.
- Once you feel the calm and/or focus entering your mind, you can just pay attention to your breath. How does it make you feel? Which part of your body is affected when you breathe? Take a minute or so to explore this.
- Let’s get to the lovey stuff, amirite?! Alright, let’s bring back that special someone into your mind. Picture their face, their being. Feel the warmth coming from that.
- Then, think about why you are grateful for said person (dog, cat, etc.) and let that center and mull in your mind. Feel the gratitude and understand why. Do this for a few minutes.
- Now, think of this being’s quirks or stuff they do that makes you smile. Do that and let yourself smile.
- To finish up, take three breaths and in your exhale perform a hum. Bow your head or stretch down to the floor and say thank you to that someone who makes your life better.
This can take as long or as little as you would like, it just depends on how much time you want to spend on each step. Each step is important in the process, you can’t just jump into meditating–it’s like easing into a pool of water until you can fully be submerged. I guarantee if you do this, you will have a better Valentine’s Day even if you don’t have a partner. Always take time for gratitude and a smile. Meditate to stay hungry and fit!
