How to Love Yourself

Loving is the process of radiating with the energy of higher consciousness and directing it to a living or non-living thing. Loving is medicinal. It is a powerful transmitter for good. It is the savior for humanity.

Self-love is a beautiful thing. It is the ability to revere all parts of yourself, even the shadow. By channeling deep affection and directing it inward, you are allowing a sacred connection to cultivate inside yourself. In this way, you are allowing supreme forgiveness, respect, honor, and care to be a part of your system. Through self-acceptance and value, you can open your heart to others and release your fears.

I hear people all the time declaring that they needed to "love themselves". They are searching for something greater - perhaps a purpose, the meaning of life, or God. They are most likely going through a change - maybe a job, relationship, or health issue. They are in need of their soul's medicine. And although they are ready to take an internal journey, often times they don't know where to begin.

Just as there are many paths to God, there are many paths in loving yourself. Here is a heart-filled suggestion on ways to develop healthy self-love.

* Taking Care of the Body - Part of loving yourself is honoring your physical temple. Find ways to feel good about your exterior and interior body. Take good care of it by giving it healthy diet, exercise, and plenty of rest. Adorn it with clothing that is comfortable and makes you happy. Find ways to connect with your body, perhaps through yoga, meditation, or holistic practices.

* Create Sacred Time - In our busy world, we must reserve time for peaceful contemplation. Centering your mind, body, and spirit is vital in loving yourself. Gift yourself time and space to relax and focus on you. Consider it a date with yourself.

* Do What Makes You Happy - Follow your heart when it comes to your occupation and leisure activities. Discover what is meaningful to you and integrate it into your lifestyle. Part of loving yourself is feeling free to do exactly who you want to. Make sure that you are playing and laughing as easily as you did in your youth.

* Let Go of Your Fears - Our fears keep us from opening our heart completely. Release the illusions that our mind projects on us so that we can enter a higher state of love and awareness. Take courage and let go.

* Honor Your Reflections - Everyone around you is a reflection of some aspect of yourself. Each person is your personal teacher. By choosing to honor others you are choosing to humble yourself to their lessons. In this way, you are then loving and respect yourself.

By doing the above suggestions, you are choosing to value yourself and live a life full of self-love. In this process, you may feel tested and challenged. This just means you are growing. As your reality begins to shift, loving yourself becomes as natural as breathing. Continue loving and gift someone else with a lesson in self-love.

Helina Metaferia is a visual artist, holistic practitioner, and founding director of The Meta Experience. She is the founder of The Love MySelf Program, a set of workshops in Meditation, Light Consciousness, and Intuitive Painting, all designed to create wellness in the participant. The next Love MySelf Program classes begin May 20, 2010 in Baltimore, MD. For more information on The Love MySelf Program or her private holistic services, visit http://www.themetaexperience.com.

Yoga -- From an Ethiopian Yogini's Perspective

With the success of commercial advertisements and offerings at local gyms, the term yoga has become common language. To some it is a fashionable way to tuck that tummy. To others it is an obscure image of foreign figures sitting with their legs crossed neatly next to their ears. And to some, it is perceived as a religion, a cult, or a thing that requires a new god or goddess.

Let’s put all of those misconceptions to rest. Yoga (which is the Sanskrit root of the word “yoke,” meaning to unite) is the union of mind, body, and spirit through the practice of an ancient science and art. Yoga brings the body to wholeness on all levels through postures, breath exercises, moral codes, concentration, withdrawal of the senses, and meditation. It is a humbling practice that may incorporate mantras (sound vibrations), mudras (hand gestures), and diet to bring a person into balance with the universe.

Yoga’s roots lay in ancient African culture, and it was notably practiced by the Nubians and people of Kemet (ancient Egypt). According to Caroline Shola Arewa’s book Opening to Spirit, Opening to Spirit, the Dravidians, the early settlers of India who are descendents of Ethiopia, introduced the practice of yoga to pre-Aryan India. Yoga is strongly affiliated with India, and most of the yoga taught in the West stems from the Indian schools of yoga. Yoga is independent of religion and may be practiced by anyone regardless of religious affiliation. It is, however, a spiritual path of Healing.

Yoga is embedded in our way of life. From our first yawns and stretches when we get out of bed, to the deep breaths we may take before making a public speech, to uttering the sound “um” (similar to the yogi’s sound OM) when trying to clear our mind. It is when the Muslim makes salat, the artist looses sense of time while painting, and the jogger feels that “runner’s high.” Yoga is our natural state of being.

Ethiopia has its share of dedicated yogis. Committed to a path of self-realization and enlightenment, the modest nuns, monks, and priests of Lalibella and other monasteries spend their lives in spiritual development. They use postures, mantras, meditation, moral codes, holistic teachings, and life force building techniques to discover themselves and their connection to the Creator. Their devotion to life service fulfills karma yoga, and their goal of Christ-compassion is the practice of bhakti yoga. The hermits in the hills are known for sporting their long locks, standing on their head for lengths of time, standing on one leg, and engaging in hours of meditation and prayer (tselot).

Yoga practices are not far from the common people as well. Ethiopian culture pays particular attention to sound and movement, both components of the state of yoga. The rapid movements of the neck, shoulders, and upper torso in the eskista dance release old prana (life force energy) and restore health to the areas of the thyroid, thymus gland, respiratory system, and breasts. The conscious alignment of the country woman’s spine as she gracefully carries baskets on her head and the meditative state of trance guided by traditional drum playing are more examples of yoga practice.

The benefits of yoga are numerous. On the physical level, yoga is an excellent way of reducing stress, and assisting with issues such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Yoga is key in balancing emotions and reducing mental chatter in the mind. It promotes a healthy diet, vitality, inner strength, wisdom, and spiritual bliss.

Here are some yoga practices you may try at home:

Technique 1: Cat and Cow Stretch - An exercise for opening the chest, heart, and massaging the spine. Come to a comfortable table position, with your hands directly underneath your shoulders, your knees under your hips, and your spine neutral. Make sure the back is flat and the arms are not over extended. Upon inhalation, slowly drop the belly toward the floor and gaze up toward the ceiling, creating a natural curve in the spine. Upon exhalation, round the spine and let the head drop toward the floor, gazing toward the navel. Moving with the breath, repeat the Cat and Cow stretch for five to ten breaths.

Technique 2: Alternate Nostril Breathing - An exercise that promotes clarity and relaxation by balancing the left and right hemisphere of the brain. Sit in a comfortable seated position; make sure your posture is straight. Form the fingers on your right hand into a mudra by releasing the index and middle finger to the palm, placing the right thumb on the outside of the right nostril and the right ring finger on the left side of the nostril. Pinch the right nostril closed with the right thumb, and take a slow and deep inhalation through the left nostril. Release the breath through the left nostril. Close off the left nostril with the right ring finger, release the thumb, and take a slow, deep inhalation through the right nostril. Exhale through the right nostril. Repeat this exercise for five to ten breaths, making sure that there has been an even amount of breaths from the left and right nostrils.

Technique 3: Mantra Meditation - An exercise for whole body balance and relaxation through sound vibration healing. Sit in a comfortable seated position; make sure the posture is straight. Place the hands on the knees with the palms up if you need an energy boost or the palms facing the knees if you need to feel more grounded. Closing the eyes and focus on the area between the brows, known as the third eye center. Repeat the sound for universal union, OM continuously for two minutes out loud, elongating the “m” sound. Next, repeat the sound OM internally for two minutes. Next, allow the sound OM to float on the mind, feeling the essence of the mantra for several minutes.



Helina teaches hot vinyasa flow yoga at Spiritual Essence Yoga in Upper Marlboro, Maryland on Wednesdays at 8:15pm. She also sees clients for private yoga therapy. For more information, visit http://www.themetaexperience.com.