Today we hear from our monthly Self-love Ambassador, the lovely Anne-Sophie Reinhardt all the way from Germany with her insights about self-love.
Anne-Sophie is a body image expert and self-love coach and the author of Love Your Body The Way It Is. As a sought-after writer, her work has been published on sites such as the Huffington Post, Tiny Buddha, Wild Sister and She Takes on the World. Anne-Sophie is passionate about helping you break up with your scale and reclaim your life!
It can seem trite when we hear the words ‘just love yourself’. How would you suggest that someone does this if they don’t know where to start?
Coming to a place of loving yourself is a process and it won’t happen overnight. I always suggest to start somewhere. Do one thing that’ll make you feel better today, that doesn’t harm you or numb your feelings. There are many ways to begin the journey to self-love and it starts with one simple action. Maybe that action is writing down a few things that you like about yourself and if you can’t come up with anything, ask your family and friends about the many things they appreciate about you. Maybe that action is beginning a meditation routine or doing mirror work (aka. saying I love you while looking in the mirror). Maybe that action is not eating that gallon of ice-cream today or it IS eating that gallon of ice-cream today. Maybe it’s a few kind words to yourself after your inner bully has been especially mean. Maybe it’s a big step like ending a relationship or getting rid of clothes that don’t fit anymore. Most of the time, I find that we know what it is we need to do first. But don’t overwhelm yourself. Just start with something. And then continue to do these small, sometimes random acts of self-love. And soon you’ll see that you’ll feel more comfortable in your skin and with yourself. 
What’s the best self-love tip you have ever heard?
The best self-love tip I’ve ever heard is that finding true peace of mind is not really about always loving yourself, but about practicing deep compassion for yourself. The more compassionate and kind we can be toward our true self, the more grounded in self-love we’ll be. On a practical level that means, remembering that nobody is perfect and not expecting perfection from yourself all the time. It means messing up and laughing about it. It means being truly kind to yourself, like you’d be to a friend. It means being mindful of all of our emotions, not pushing them away – neither the negative ones nor the positive ones – and instead embracing them, welcoming them and working with them.
How do you bring yourself back into your heart when you are feeling down on yourself?
I have a set routine of practices that are non-negotiable in my life. Without them, it’s easy for me to beat myself up or have feelings of not being good enough. I begin each day with meditation, journaling and yoga. These practices help me stay grounded and positive and usually pick me up when I feel down on myself. However, when I feel particularly low, I do a lot of reframing. That means that I’m asking myself if what I’m thinking/saying/ feeling is really true or if it’s just my inner perfectionist trying to make me feel inferior. This gives me the opportunity to see what’s really going on and then I can make the changes I need in order to feel better again.
Thank you so much Anne-Sophie for sharing your insights and wisdom. I so resonate with the non-negotiable morning practice. When I don’t do this, my whole day feels disjointed. A great reminder!
To find out more about Anne-Sophie’s work and start your personal body image revolution today by joining her body-love notes.
