Hello, 2022 and fellow glow getters!
There is something about the start of a new year that energizes and excites me. It is a chance for new opportunities, experiences, people, life lessons, and personal growth.
Speaking of personal growth, one of my favorite things is finding new practices I truly enjoy that I feel inspired to perform every day. Whether it be a new form of meditation, breathing technique, or workout, I love incorporating habits that make me feel good and finding tools to help me out when I am not feeling my best. There are moments when I will have a reoccurrence of past thought patterns but I am able to catch these negative thoughts and redirect them thanks to the tools I continuously and regularly use.
One of the reasons for starting The Healthy Glow Getter in 2019 was to share things that have had a positive impact on my life. When I am passionate about something I want to yell it from the rooftops and share it with the world in hopes of inspiring or helping someone. I have been this way for as long as I can remember. My husband always tells me my child-like excitement for the things that I am passionate about in life is one of his favorite attributes of mine. If I believe in something I will give it my all. My posts are based on experiences and lessons that have helped or changed my life in some positive way.
I am eager to share a new daily practice of mine that has been incredibly powerful for me. It has been so helpful for me that I had to make it my first post of 2022 and share it with you here.
My technique can be summed up into two parts:
The first part of my new habit, hand to heart, I discovered listening to a podcast with one of my favorite authors and speakers EVER, Mel Robbins. She is a true inspiration and badass mother and businesswoman. In the podcast, she was talking about her book The High Five Habit. To briefly sum it up, it is about how she changed her life and boosted her self-esteem by high fiving herself in the mirror every morning. She also talks about how in moments of upset, stress, or anxiety, she will put her hand to heart and take deep inhale and exhale breaths. I am familiar with several different breathing techniques but was intrigued by physically putting my hand to heart while practicing them.
The 2nd part of my new habit is reciting affirmations while holding my hand to my heart. There is something about the combination of doing both together that feels very soothing. If you follow me on Instagram you know how much I love using affirmations. They changed my life profoundly years ago. The book, You Can Heal Your Life By Louise Hay (A book about affirmations) was the first personal growth book that I had ever read, and ever since then, I have never been the same. I decided to combine these two practices together to make my own little ritual. The results were so amazing I have continued to do this daily, several times throughout my day.
So how do you practice this technique that I came up with? Read below to find out!
Hand To Heart + Affirmations Technique:
*Every morning after waking, immediately put your hand to heart. Take a slow, deep breath in, followed by a slow breath out. Repeat an affirmation that is relevant to you in that moment. Sometimes I will use the same affirmation for a week or longer if I am working through something specific, otherwise, I will find one that appeals to me on that particular occasion. I will do this particular technique 2-5 times daily. It is especially helpful in moments of stress or anxiety. You can use whenever you want as many times as you want. That is it! I hope you enjoy this little treasure of a practice as much as I do.
Sending love and positive vibes in 2022.
Namaste,
– Kate
