The #ILoveMe Movement

The #ILoveMe Movement is meant to inspire you to make the whole month of February about loving and appreciating yourself! Every day at Shine Studio we try to instill positivity and self-love into our #ShineSociety members. We see each and every one of you come in and give yourself a little self love in an hour of exercise or an hour of time with your friends, and we see you walk out with a big smile on your face... even though you might be a bit more sore than when you first walked in!

We challenge you to see this month as an important part of starting the year of 2017 off right. Take the #ILoveMe challenge with us and take time to find what makes you a unique, amazing, complex, smart, and beautiful individual. You deserve it!

We have many friends and #BossBabes that are leading the charge to happier and healthier lives, so we asked them to share their secrets to self-love.

We hope this inspires you to create a life of love and abundance, with you at the center!

Kylie Realmuto, South Bay Sweat
www.southbaysweat.com
@southbaysweat

What do you love about yourself?
“I love my bravery. Because I moved three times to places where I knew only 1 to 2 people, including a move from Alabama to Los Angeles, and I have met some of the most beautiful souls who inspire me daily and mean the absolute world to me. I have had some of the most amazing opportunities while living in a place where healthy choices are very accessible. I love the life I have, immersing myself into a positive, healthy, loving culture and bravery got me here.”

What is your secret to self-love?
“Taking the pressure off. On my toughest days I have to sort out two things: What unnecessary pressure am I putting on myself? Over commitments, impossible goals, mile long to-do lists, unreasonable expectations, and etc. Secondly, what does Kylie need today? A fun treat (Alfred's famous $10 matcha) a bubble bath, some endorphins, happy hour with the girls or cuddles and a movie with my hubby.”

Olivia Romero, Green Peas Pink Wine
@greenpeaspinkwine

What do you love about yourself?
“WOW, where to start!?! Just kidding.... To be honest, I love a lot of things about myself. And those things are both on the "inside" and the "outside". Let me explain. The things I like on the "inside" are my confidence, which was nurtured by my mother. She raised me to me a strong, passionate and confident woman. That brings me to strong. I am strong willed, strong minded and physically strong as well. I love fitness and it is a part of my every day life. I love to move, feel healthy and fit as well as feeding my body with a balanced healthy and clean diet. Next is passionate. I am passionate about life, my career, my husband (the love of my life) and of course my friends and family. I have a lot of love to give and I definitely love hard.
That brings me to the "outside" I LOVE my family and friends immensely! With out these people I wouldn't be the woman I am today and life would be so worthless. I lean on them, they lean on me. I support them, they support me. We create memories that truly make life worthwhile and I cherish every moment I have with them.”

What is your secret to self-love?
“My secret to self love is to first realize your soul was put on this earth to BE someone. You need to know that you have a purpose, whether it is great or small. And beauty comes from within. If you feel physically healthy, you take care of your body and nourish it correctly, get enough sleep and laugh a lot, you will feel strong and confident enough to love yourself first.
Second, you need to surround yourself with people that support you as well and build you up. Be around people who have similar goals, likes and dislikes and who you feel confident with. Those are the keys to self - love.“

Whitney English, To Live & Diet in L.A.
liveanddiet.com
@whitneylenglish

What do you love about yourself?
“I love my sense of humor. I love laughing and making people laugh.”

What is your secret to self-love?
“The secret to my self-love is acknowledging that everyone is unique, and that's a good thing. Not better, not worse, just different. As long as I'm true to myself and striving to be the best person I can be, then I am happy.”

Katie Bressack
www.katiebressack.com
@katiebressack

What do you love about yourself?
“It took me many years to be able to say this but, I love everything about myself! I struggled for a long time with my body (mostly my butt), especially back when I lived in NYC where everyone was so stylish and always looked so toned and fit. It wasn't until I started practicing yoga and found myself holding plank and warrior poses where I realized how strong I was. I became grateful for my butt and thighs, parts of my body that I wasn't never really fond of, but now without them I couldn't hold these poses that make me feel empowered and confident in my body. Once I started loving every inch of me, the inner mean girl shut up, and things in my life radically changed. I became a yoga teacher, went back to school for nutrition and started my own business. I truly believe that the moment I let go and truly embraced every part of my self my body felt relaxed and is happy to love me back.”

What is your secret to self-love?
“Making myself a real priority! The more I slow down, the more I only say yes to things that feel like a Hell yes, when I spend time with people where I can be myself I find it way easier to be kind to myself. When I'm super busy and feeling depleted, that's when it becomes easier to compare myself to others, and that's when those destructive thoughts and feelings arise. I take time every day to recognize if what I'm doing feels good, and if things are no longer in alignment I make adjustments so that I feel like a priority.”

Mariel Heather, Owner of THINKALLWAYS
www.thinkallways.com
@thinkallways

What do you love about yourself?
“I love this question because when I was younger my answer would probably be, “Nothing.” Over the years however, we go through adversity, good times, bad times, we’re constantly tested and throughout this time, we learn more about ourselves than ever!
What I love about myself is my strength. Time after time, situation after situation, I am pleasantly surprised with my strength to overcome obstacles, get back on my feet, spin negatives to positives in a way that can inspire other women and never ever give up.”

What is your secret to self-love?
“DO NOT BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF!! I’m my own worst critic and our self-talk is very powerful. To counter this, I keep a gratitude journal and it’s really helpful to not only write down every day the little things you’re grateful for in your life but to note what you’re grateful for about YOURSELF! We all have unique gifts and personalities. If you’re not sure what they are, ask your friends and family what they love about you. Once you write them down, embrace them, honor them and PLEASE BE NICE TO YOURSELF. :)"

Amanda Gray, Founder of Sweat and Flow
www.sweat-and-flow.com
@sweatandflow

What do you love about yourself?
“My willingness to go deep and recover from the "disease to please." It has allowed me to find my voice and speak my truth, know my value, and set healthy boundaries with others. Such a simple concept, but it has been radically life-changing in terms of creating self-worth and confidence.”

What is your secret to self-love?
“Self-love can't come without self-care, and self-care is a daily practice of checking in with yourself. Honestly ask yourself, what do you need? Some days that might be skin deep- a fresh manicure, a massage, a relaxing bubble bath. Other days it may need to go deeper-- meditating, journaling, therapy, etc. Being grounded in self-love requires that we accept, without judgment, both the shadow and the light within.”

Courtney Satow, Owner of NutriZen
www.nutrizenlifestyle.com
@CourtneyNicoleSatow

What do you love about yourself?
"I love that I feel so deeply. Sometimes people can look at sensitivity as a downfall but for me, it makes me who I am. I am a sensitive person and it makes me that much more passionate about helping others, helping animals, helping our environment. I care so much about so many different things including my own personal well-being. I am very aware of times when I am feeling down or not quite myself and choose to do something about it rather than suffer in silence. I have truly grown to love myself more over the years the more I have looked deeper past the physical layers."

What is your secret to self love?
"I really try and listen to my body. I love practicing yoga and going to kickboxing/working out but sometimes I just need a nap or I need to go home and have a glass of wine. There is no sense in beating myself up over not doing something that I intended on doing when my body asked for something else. On the contrary, it is important to hold myself accountable to work out and fuel my body because that’s what’s good for me. Finding that healthy balance of never overdoing anything is usually what gets me through each week. I don’t have a six-pack, I am not the most toned person you’ve ever seen but I have chosen that and love my body for everything it does. I am stronger than I ever thought I would be physically and mentally, doing things in my yoga practice I never thought possible. That to me is enough."

Yaya Margarita, Co-Owner of Shine Studio

What do you love about yourself?
"I love that people feel comfortable to be themselves around me, knowing I won't judge them for what they like and their 'quirks'. I know what it's like to feel like an outcast, so I do my best not to let anyone else feel that way. You're into Larping? 'Cool!' Enjoy musicals? 'Let's go!' Dressing up for Comic-Con? 'I'll meet you there in an Ewok costume.' Just be yourself, and I'll adore you for it."

What is your secret to self-love?
"Be patient with yourself, we are consistently changing and trying to figure ourselves out everyday; Be patient, you'll get to where to want you want to be. Just focus on you, quit comparing yourself to others, work hard, help as many people as possible, and do it with a smile."

Hillary Lewis, Co-Owner of Shine Studio

What do you love about yourself?
"I have always had big dreams. I have sacrificed a lot of things to pursue them, but doing so has brought me to so many wonderful places and allowed me to meet such amazing people. My dreams have shaped me into a well rounded, empathetic, and adventurous person. I'm so thankful for that!"

What is your secret to self-love?
“I have learned to be easy on myself. As a recovering perfectionist, I have to remind myself that its ok to have flaws, to mess up, to have off days, because those things are to be, simply, human. If you continue to remind yourself of all the positive things you bring into the world, and also work every day to be the kindest and most hardworking person you can be, then you know you are doing the best you can. And that's something to be proud of."

SHINE ON!