In today’s society, we talk badly to our bodies, compare ourselves to those around us, shame ourselves when our clothes don’t look the way they should, and never worship ourselves or our feminine energy in the way that we were born to. We also have been taught that looking in mirrors makes us ‘vain’ or narcissistic, but I believe that mirror work and mirror affirmations are revolutionary and something that has become a critical part of my morning routine and self-love ritual.

Self-love and mirror work  

If you read my recent article that you all loved on my morning routine (linked here) you’ll know that my friend Nasiba inspired me with the most incredible addition to my morning routine. Today, connecting with myself with holi (body) (after my morning bath/shower) is a critical part of my healing, nurturing, and nourishing well-being routine every morning (not only for my skin health but also for my emotional health too). holi (body) is my ageless body serum and my morning ritual (post-showering or bathing) involves applying this beautiful oil all over my body but now? I always do it in front of a mirror.

Mirror work 

Mirror work is a practice designed to connect inwards and cultivate self-compassion through using spoken affirmations as part of the experience of looking and talking to yourself.

Even though it might initially be uncomfortable, studies have shown that mirror work - which ultimately is talking to yourself in a mirror - develops a sense of self, self-esteem, love, and gratitude. Coming face to face to your body and true self in the mirror allows you to generate compassion for your body, mind, and soul and see your reality for how it is, rather than how you imagine it to be. It shifts the energy you hold in the relationship with yourself, and the intention throughout should always be positive - to deepen and appreciate the reflection staring back at you. Mirror work stops you from being able to hide from the parts you don’t like and starts you on a journey to accepting, embracing, and loving those parts too. 

This morning ritual is very connective for me. When I apply the holi (body) to every inch of my skin, I thank my body for all it does for me. I thank my body for how strong it is, how beautiful and powerful it is, as well as how it is always trying to heal me and move back to a place of balance and homeostasis.

I also love to incorporate the Ho’oponopono prayer into my mirror affirmations.

The Ho’oponopono prayer  

The ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian prayer that was made famous by Haleaka Hew Len PhD, a Hawaiian psychologist and shamanic practitioner who used the repetition of this prayer to empty an entire psychiatric ward. 

The Ho’oponopono prayer is a four-stage mantra that you bring to life by repeating: ‘I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you’.

It’s so simple, but I find this small mantra-based prayer, packed full of wisdom, is an age-old practice that is just so healing and is even more powerful when you are connecting with your body physically in this skin-on-skin nourishing ritual. The four steps of the prayer generate a vibration of caring, kind, affectionate emotion and help us to reduce shame and judgment and start to generate a level of vibration within that will, over time, start to show up in the physical world outside of us.

I believe that we can heal our relationship with our body, our heart, and the world by slowing down, connecting inwards, and generating a level of compassion for ourselves that we often don’t live with.

This experience has been revolutionary for me. I feel calmer, more connected, and I care about myself so much more. I hope that this might be the start of you feeling the same way too.

Love Jena x

***THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED OR REGULATED BY THE FDA. WE ARE NOT DOCTORS, THEREFORE ALWAYS CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR FIRST