Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

This Valentine’s Day

Celebrate your love for you!

There are all different types of love—romantic, platonic, familial, self—and all different ways to express it. Love is a universal emotion with biochemical properties (dopamine, norepinephrine, oxytocin) that cause the wondrous flood of feelings associated with the sentiment. But as Leo Buscaglia (aka Dr. Love) famously proclaimed, “To love others, you must first love yourself.”

The most important relationship is your relationship with yourself. This relationship forms the foundation for all other relationships in your life. So, this Valentine’s Day—whether you have a Valentine or not—take some time to celebrate love for you. 

One way to do this is through acts of self-care.

Self-Love & Self-Care

According to PsychCentral, true self-love means that you “accept yourself fully, treat yourself with kindness and respect, and nurture your growth and well-being.” Self-love looks like nourishing our bodies, respecting our individuality, accepting our imperfections, pursuing our passions, valuing our emotions, and prioritizing time for ourselves. It is time to realize that you are as important and deserving of love as anyone else and that love is an essential ingredient for health.

Self-care is a form of self-love and an act(s) that can greatly contribute to your health and overall well-being. Self-care practices can relieve stress and anxiety, promote relaxation and mental clarity, boost self-worth and happiness, and support resiliency and healing. It is a gift that keeps on giving.

How Self-Care Can Help You Heal

While there are a lot of factors, like toxicity, energy imbalances, and acidity that support a disease state and inhibit optimal healing, it is our autonomic nervous system, either sympathetic or parasympathetic, that really determines whether or not we can fully heal. When we get stuck in a sympathetic state (fight-or-fight), which, unfortunately, is easy to do (chronic stress is one of the main reasons this happens), energy and resources that would normally be used for healing are instead allocated elsewhere.

On the flip side, when we become parasympathetic (rest and digest) dominant, healing and a return to homeostasis can occur. To encourage and maintain a parasympathetic state, self-care practices, like some of the self-care tips you’ll find listed below, can help support your body’s natural rest and digest state and healing capabilities.

21 Ways to Practice Self-Care this Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s Day, give yourself the gift of self-care.

• Take a mini digital detox.
• Make a gratitude list.
• Make a list of 10 (or more) things that you love about yourself.
• Practice positive affirmations.
• Draw a bubble bath.
• Indulge in some dark chocolate.
• Relax with an audiobook.
• Listen to an uplifting or inspiring podcast.
• Have an at-home spa day.
• Try some aromatherapy (essential oils).
• Book a massage.
• Give yourself a DIY face mask.
• Get fifteen minutes of sunshine.
• Enjoy a little nap.
• Plan a self-date doing something you love.
• Go to a class.
• Put on your favorite record and dance.
• Spend some time in nature.
• Set out on a stroll (bring your dog, if you have one).
• Prepare a new healthy dish.
• Bake a special dessert.

Bonus: Self-Care Gift Ideas

If you are looking for a little Valentine’s Day gift for you (or a loved one), here are some of our favorites.

A Question a Day for Self-Care: A Three-Year Journal
Natural Sloth Candles
Somavedic device for EMF mitigation
Nadavim brain supplement
Rowe Casa Organics Detox Bath Salts
VitaJuwel water bottle by Gem-Water