The other weekend, I went on a yoga retreat. In addition to yoga, we learned about various wellness practices, from visualization to breathing techniques. One of my favorite exercises from the weekend was writing love letters… to ourselves. It’s a great mindfulness exercise to do if you’re feel low or simply need a little self esteem boost. Self love was one of my intentions for 2020. So I really took this exercise to heart. Here are the steps to do this mindfulness exercise at home:

Write a love letter to yourself

To get started, carve out ten minutes of your day. Find a comfortable position and grab a pen and paper. Set your timer for ten minutes and start writing yourself a letter. Kick it off with Dear {your name} and don’t stop writing until the timer goes off. Then sign it Love, {your name}.

You can write yourself whatever you want. Just make sure it comes from a place of love. Just as you would do for others, tell yourself how amazing you are and why you’re so incredible. Keep praising yourself for a full ten minutes.

write a love letter to your future self

The next day, carve out another ten minutes and follow the same setup. But this time, write a letter to your future self. Think of yourself in a year from now. Give your future self praise for all you’ve accomplished. Tell your future self how proud you are. Keep the love going until the timer goes off.

I hope this exercise helps you as much as it helped me! If you’re anything like me, self compassion can be difficult. But this simple exercise literally felt like I was getting huge hug… from myself.

“You, yourself,
as much as anybody in the entire universe,
deserve your love and affection.”
– BUDDHA