The Ultimate Yoga Flow To Practice Self-Love & Open The Heart

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s a nice reminder to spread the love – to others and maybe, if not more importantly, to yourself. Practicing self-love is so important and crucial to our well-being.

Until I discovered yoga in the early ’90s, I wasn’t too in love with myself, to be honest. I would nitpick everything on me and never felt "good" enough or "perfect" enough. I discovered yoga when I was studying acting at NYU Tisch School, and I fell in love with the practice; with yoga, I learned to fall in love with myself.

Yoga starts by connecting us to our breath; when we breathe fully, we allow space for the universal energy to enter through us, which oxygenates every one of our cells; we begin to feel alive and happy – this signals a chain reaction. When we move in a way that opens us up and releases negative energy, we can let go of the self-doubt that we cling to for false security. We tap into our internal strength and build confidence through balance and movement.

I’ve returned to my mat time and time again through different phases of my life when I’ve wavered or felt insecure or self-loathing. It can be easy to get disconnected when we have so many things going on in our lives, careers, and home life. 'Yoga' means to 'unite' and helps us reconnect and find our center – when we connect with ourselves, we can’t help but feel the love.

Fish is a more restorative backbend that can be done over a block. I love to hang out in fish and watch my breath and concentrate on being open and fostering self-love. Once I come out of fish and lie on my back, it feels amazing. It’s like giving yourself a mini massage.

When we remember our mind and body are connected, and once we move in a loving way, our thoughts follow suit. We tap into our internal beauty, and our feelings and attitude toward ourselves and others are filled with love. We build our own personal universe and fill up with universal breath and become full of self-love and joy.