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Galentines
Wellness
Published Tuesday Feb 13, 2018 by Brittany Raine

5 DIY Ideas for Your No. 1 Galentines

Motivation
Beauty

Oh, hey Valentine’s Day—I mean Galentine’s Day. In the spirit of heart-shaped chocolates, sappy notecards, and red roses, I like to use February as an excuse to celebrate my favorite females—and express a little extra gratitude. With all the Insta-worthy inspiration out there, what better way to show my go-to gals how much I appreciate them than with a little homemade, thoughtful (and budget-friendly) gift?

Roll up your sleeves, take ten minutes, and get ready to have some fun with my top five DIY Galentine's Day gifts for the beautiful babes in your life!
 

Flower Power

Flower Power

No store-bought bouquet here! Grab an inexpensive vase, some friendly inspiration, fresh florals, and you’ll have a little special something in no-time. Not only will it make her day, the vase will be a personalized gift she can reuse in the future. 

What You Need:
Inexpensive vase (hello, dollar store!)
Paint pens
Fresh flowers
Stencils (optional)

Tip:
I like to use gold and silver Sharpie paint pens to write one complimentary word on the vase to describe each friend. The stylish colors give the vase an extra touch of class (be sure to practice on a piece of paper first, though!). Also, the simpler the better—buy a bouquet and split it amongst the hand-drawn vases, adding one to two statement flowers per vase. 



Drug Store Secrets

Drug Store Secrets

Facemasks. Nail polish. Lip gloss, oh my! Leverage your local drug store for some sweet finds that you can easily personalize to tap into your “punny” Galentine’s girly-side. 

What You Need: 
Favorite wellness | beauty products (Essie, anyone?)
Writable gift tags
Markers 

Tip:
Don’t be afraid to have fun with this one. A little wellness product can go a long way when you add some humor to the gift tag. “You’re nailing it”, “You’re the balm”, “I love our face time”—the personalization mixed with puns are endless!


 Dark Chocolate



“Guilt-Free” Dark Chocolate Goodies

When boxed chocolates just don’t make the cut for the health conscious honey on your list, whip up some Galentine’s Day kitchen magic with simply delicious Crazy Good Coconut Oil “Chocolate” Bark. Easy to make with high-quality ingredients, this gluten-free, vegan, no baking required bark will score you some major points.

What You Need:
    •    1/4 cup raw hazelnuts

    •    1/4 cup raw almonds

    •    1/3 cup large flake dried coconut

    •    1/2 cup virgin coconut oil

    •    1/2 cup cocoa or cacao powder, sifted if necessary

    •    1/4 cup pure maple syrup

    •    1 tablespoon smooth almond butter, optional

    •    pinch fine sea salt

Plastic bags for bark
Ribbon or twine to tie bags
Gift tags (optional)

Tip:
I like to add dried fruit to this bark for an extra pop of color. Try adding dried chopped cranberries and/or cherries for a festive, deep red color that will compliment the chocolatey and nutty flavoring.

 

Yoga class

Invite Only

If your gal pals don’t need any more “stuff”, time spent together can be the greatest gift (especially during a calming sweat session). Design mock invitations that invite them to an OM-azing experience. You pick the place. They pick the time! 

What You Need:
Type of class suggestions (Vinyasa, Power Flow, etc.)
Funny yoga sayings (“Yogatta get your yoga on with me!”)
Paper
Scissors 
Markers

Tip: 
Add a few class suggestions to the invite, utilizing the choices in your area via the MINDBODY app. As soon as your Galentine says “yes!”, easily book a class that works for your schedules and workouts! A little Zen goes a long way. 

 

Mason Jar

Mason Jar Memories



You celebrate your ladies for a reason. Maybe it’s the endless laughs. Their constant support. Or how about their sass? Either way, you’ve made some amazing memories together, so why not celebrate them? Create a mason jar of memories by selecting some of your favorite moments, writing them on strips of paper, then placing them in the jar. It’s that easy! Warning: there might be some happy crying involved.

What You Need:
Mason jar of your choice
Paper
Scissors 
Pen / Markers

Tip:
Include future memories you hope to make with your best babe. It will let her know that you plan to do some pretty special things in the coming days, months, years.
   

Who said Valentine’s Day is just for significant others? #girlpower


 

Brittany Raine MINDBODY
Written by
Brittany Raine
Consumer Content Program Manager
About the author
A free-spirited farmgirl from New York, Brittany traded her job as a journalist and newspaper editor for the San Diego sunshine. Brittany now leads the curation of all creative content. There are rumors she was Middle Earth's warrior elven queen in a past life.
shanila sattar
Wellness
Published Wednesday Mar 17, 2021 by Shanila Sattar

Foundational Steps to Cultivating a Daily Self-love Practice

Self-care
Expert Advice
Personal Growth
Wellness

When you think of self-love what do you think of? Bubble baths, walks on the beach, facemasks, or what? Self-love can mean so many different things but when we think about self-love, we have to acknowledge loving ourselves both on the outside and on the inside. The way that we show ourselves love is one of the most important things we will ever do. 

How do we treat ourselves? How do we talk to ourselves? What foods are we putting into our bodies? How are we thinking about our overall well-being when practicing self-love?

As self-love defines and redefined itself for you over the years, here are a few foundational tips to think about when easing into your self-love journey.

 

Step 1: Learn to set boundaries

Don’t we love this one? Loving ourselves has a lot to do with the boundaries that we have for ourselves, with others, and for others. Take time to think about your own emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual needs when setting boundaries that reflect your personal needs. Boundaries don’t have to be big and scary; they are here to remind us that you get to have your lived experience and still have expectations about how you’d like to be treated and what you’d like to feel.

When thinking about your boundaries, ask yourself:

  • How do I feel without having boundaries?
  • What would I like to have boundaries around?
  • Are my boundaries actual boundaries or am I creating walls in my life?
  • How do I plan to uphold my boundaries?
Step 2: Cultivate self-compassion

In a world where perfectionism and curated existences have been rewarded, begin to cultivate compassion for yourself. You are a soul having a human experience and it’s totally okay if things are not perfect. 

Mindfulness exercises such as Breathwork, self-care activities, and self-compassion, all help train the mind, emotions, and even the body’s stress chemicals to be able to deal with undesired situations. Self-compassion means, can you be nice to yourself? Can you find empathy and kindness for yourself in the middle of what feels chaotic, stressful, or unwanted? Self-compassion means that we get to make mistakes, have our plans not work out the way that we wanted, and we still get to celebrate that we are doing the best that we can and it is enough.

When thinking about self-compassion, ask yourself:

  • How do I respond to stressful situations?
  • How hard am I on myself?
  • How do I celebrate myself?
  • How do I show myself kindness?
Step 3: Nourish yourself

In every sense of the word “nourishment”, begin to learn what nourishes you and what depletes you. Nourishment doesn’t just mean food for yourself; it means that whatever you are consuming whether it be media, podcasts, people, energy, information, etc. all impact the way that we think, feel, and experience life.

Nourishing yourself definitely goes right along the lines of having your boundaries intact and practicing self-compassion. 

When thinking about nourishment, ask yourself:

  • How do I nourish my emotional well-being?
  • How do I nourish my mental well-being?
  • How do I nourish my physical well-being?
  • How do I nourish my spiritual well-being?
  • How do I nourish my social well-being?
  • How do I nourish my financial well-being?

That’s it. Those are the foundational steps to cultivating a self-love practice that you can ease into your daily routine. Come back to these questions often, because like anything else, self-love is a practice and it takes effort, time, and intention to maintain. 

If you’d like to try breathwork, mindfulness, or play classes with me, check out these workshops and training sessions that work with your schedule. For other breathwork classes, browse Mindbody.

 

headshot shanila sattar
Written by
Shanila Sattar
Founder, AlwaysPlayStudios
About the author
Shanila is a 4th generation sound healer, breathwork coach, mentor, women’s researcher, and speaker. She is the Founder of AlwaysPlayStudios where she trains breathwork facilitators and sound healers. Her background is in tech, having co-founded an award-winning web agency, and in women’s research, specifically in mindsets, implicit bias, perfectionism, women's health, and societal experiences supported through the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, and several universities. She has implemented several health and wellbeing programs in underserved populations throughout the US. Shanila mentors healers on their healing and intuitive wellness journeys. Connect: @shanila.sattar