by Jenny Dinoia
For years, I have been working on self-love in my own healing journey.
It is common for people, especially women, to never feel good enough and to have an almost constant inner critic.
So, what exactly is self-love anyways? We hear about it everywhere and its importance but what exactly is it and how do you get it?
Self-love is being genuinely compassionate, caring and kind to yourself exactly as you are right now. That’s right as you are right now: the body, career, love life, health and every other aspect of your life as it is, messy and all, as life inevitably is. You do not all of a sudden love and accept yourself once you lose those extra 20 pounds, or land the dream job, or get married… You are not perfect and never will be. Can you love the perfect imperfections and the evolving person that you are, shadows and all?
I know you can. And I am excited to share a four part series on self-love starting January 7th that runs 4 Wednesdays.
In the four part series, you will learn all of the different aspects on how to love yourself genuinely and the common obstacles we face in the process. Like balance, sometimes you do fall in your self-love journey, but what is important is how quickly and gracefully you get back up.
In part one, which is the most important aspect, we will go over why you must and how you can once and for all end that annoying inner critic. You will learn many juicy and fun and SIMPLE tools you can implement daily so that you are finally free to have your inner voice be kind to yourself. You deserve it.
In part two, you will learn how to make time for yourself, set boundaries and ways to nourish yourself in body, mind and spirit. We will have a special guest nutritionist join us to go over why food is so vital to your well-being and review healthy nutrition basics.
Part three is my favorite section, as it involves others. Self-love may sound like it is all about you but humans are social creatures and we are not meant to be islands of independence and autonomy. There is no joy for most people with that lifestyle. We are nothing without our communities, families (whether biological or your new tribe), friends and pets! We can love ourselves better when we acknowledge how much we are loved by those around us and by loving and giving back to the ones we love in our community. Service heals. We are only as strong as the weakest link. After this class, we will have light snacks and refreshments and hopefully a dj dance party and/or board game party.
Part four covers a subject I find to be simultaneously the most challenging and the most liberating. You will experience a powerful ritual for letting stuff (energetic connections, trauma,..) go.
When we truly let go of all of the pain and junk from the past we can really live in the present. Holding on to past grudges from our childhood is a quick recipe for welcoming in that dreadful inner critic we work so hard to get rid of from part one.
How do you forgive? That is a tough question and we will learn from the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh who has written many books on the subject.
You will also learn some practical clearing techniques as clutter is not just material junk but also blocking you from having new and better things in your life. You must have faith that giving that old sweater you haven’t worn since high school to Goodwill is a good idea because releasing it will bring space for something better to enter your closet and yes life!
Faith is the most important element in all of these parts. You must have faith that you can love yourself and that you deserve it. You are a unique and beautiful person. You only have one life and you deserve to feel good on the inside and out. I love you and remember to STAY WILD!
Jenny
Self-Love: 4 Part Series
Part 1: Stop The Inner Critic
Wednesday January 7th 7-8:30pm
Part 2: Self-care
Wednesday January 14th 7-8:30pm
Part 3: Community
Wednesday January 21rst 7-8:30pm (followed by light snacks and reception)
Part 4: Let it go!
Wednesday January 28th 7-8:30pm
Series: $40 (paid in full by first class) Drop-in: $15
The Yoga Room 