Special family time helps build a healthy, happy heart.

February is ‘Healthy Heart’ month with lots of love flowing around, especially, on Valentine’s Day. January has opened the way for us to flow into expressing from the heart with generosity, kindness and a sense of belonging.

Have you noticed that when you haven’t had kind thoughts about yourself, beating yourself over small things, that it affects your relationships and general communication? So February is a reminder to be ‘kind to your own heart’ and this means accepting yourself just as you are in any given moment with no expectations or judgments. Many of us have had this tendency to blame ourselves for not being good enough, perfect enough in our work, family and even our playtime. Our society sets very high standards for people to live up to. And this is the first mistake – buying into this thought pattern. So there is nothing to change once we have the awareness. The mind can’t take us into those places when we are the captain of the ship.

Children remind us that it is simple to live from the heart. They love to express their own heart energy with their parents and friends, whether it is helping prepare dinner in the kitchen, doing creative activities or snuggling up before bedtime. They remind us to slow down and relax and to laugh. They let us know when they feel shut down with no time for fun time or family time.

So, Valentine’s Day is almost upon us – a time to give the heart a real boost of ‘caring’. And, this is the most important ingredient for a ‘healthy, happy heart’. Making and sending Valentine’s, or some token of love and appreciation goes beyond just the romantic and can be extended to others like grandparents, teachers and other friends.

Here are a few fun yoga ideas to make your family Valentine’s Day very special, and remember to extend this heart-felt feeling throughout the year.

  1. Make your family – ‘Heart Healthy’! Take a few minutes to do some heart centered yoga poses or some heart breathing with your children.
  2. Eat heart healthy food like fruits, vegetables, whole grain foods, protein foods and drink plenty of water daily.
  3. Make breakfast together as a family. If time allows make some pink pancakes and add or adorn with some red fruit like strawberries or raspberries. If making oatmeal is easier, than you can do the same thing with the fruit.
  4. Make a heart shaped sandwich for lunch and us a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the veggies. And you can add a chocolate covered strawberry.
  5. Have a game where you make hearts with construction paper and write notes of appreciation and tape on the bedroom door of your children and they do the same for you. Of course, only put them up at bedtime to be seen first thing on Valentine’s Day!
  6. And do something that your kids love but don’t do often. It might be to play a certain game, or have a visit to the local museum of nature.
  7. Give a Valentine’s Day gift to your children that gives them inspiration e.g. a special book or creative project.
  8. Do a creative project together e.g. making heart healthy muffins or plan a dance party in the evening and choose the music together.

The most important ingredient for a ‘healthy, happy heart ‘ is to embrace special family time with individual time alone to give the heart a boost of love, balance and peace. Your heart will thank you!

 

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