featured image for blog on self-love yoga shirts with sayings valentines inspiration. features one shirt that says: nonviolence begins with self-love

Yoga Shirts with Sayings: Valentine’s Self-Love Edition

By the time you read this blog, Valentine’s Day may be around the corner and you might be feeling a bit down. The anticipation of this lovers’ holiday can trigger feelings of loneliness or sadness for many. Often referred to as “Valentine’s Day Blues“, science confirms it’s a real psychological issue.

With this blog, I hope to shift your perspective and encourage you to practice self-love on and beyond the Valentine’s Day celebrations. Here I will discuss the deeper meaning of messages for the collection of yoga shirts with self-love sayings. All of which are here to remind you that you should be the love of your life.

The good news is, you don’t need to buy a Mantra Staples shirt to get inspired. Simply reading these phrases and their deeper meanings can trigger an avalanche of positive feelings. As I shared in one of the previous blogs, consuming positive messages can change your life experience. Now, let’s look at few of Mantra Staples Valentine’s self-love shirts and their inspiration.

1. Yoga shirt with “Self-love changes everything” saying

This top's mantra, "Self-love Changes Everything", is inspired by yoga philosophy and positive psychology, as both encourage people to cultivate self-acceptance (and love). This exact phrase came to me as I was driving home from a yoga class. My mood was already lifted after the session, and the energy of love was in the air. Then, the song "Love Changes (Everything)" by Climie Fisher came on the radio. It was a great sing-along—and the words ring so true.

The song originally was about romantic love for another person. Of course, rose-tinted glasses change everything, but we rarely get to see ourselves through that type of lens.

That's why I wanted to twist the original thought and add "Self" in front of the word "Love". Now, it is an entirely different phrase with a different meaning.

Being in love with another person can change your life for a fleeting moment. However, all rose-tinted glasses wear off, and even maintaining a relationship built on love is not always a joyride but can bring its own set of challenges.

Self-love, however, can change how you experience the world for a lifetime. And that love, you alone can choose.

2. Yoga shirt with “Nonviolence starts with self-love” saying

Nonviolence is a core concept in yoga philosophy and the first of its moral principles. While from the sidelines, one may think it applies to how we treat others and the world around us (e.g., vegetarian diet, ecological lifestyle), in reality, the best place to start practicing nonviolence is within ourselves.

I like to start every new beginners' yoga group by introducing this concept: We're doing yoga to love ourselves, not to find another place where we can set goalposts for certain poses and enlightenment and push ourselves unreasonably hard to attain them. I like how Deborah Adele summarizes this in the book Yamas & Niyamas: "Our ability to be nonviolent to others is directly related to our ability to be nonviolent within ourselves."

Simon Haas, in The Book of Dharma, shares this sentiment. He writes, "Violence to others is always preceded by violence to oneself. It is like picking up hot coals to throw at someone else. We are always the ones who get burned first."

So, before we can practice nonviolence towards others, we can practice it on the mat by accepting ourselves as we are and moving with kindness. As our abilities change and progress, we have to respect the new boundaries. Sometimes, we see progress; other times, we have to fall back and let our body rest, such as after an injury. Acting compassionately with ourselves from moment to moment is nonviolence.

3. Yoga shirt with “But first, love yourself” saying

This t-shirt is inspired by a famous pop culture phrase: "But first, coffee." The original phrase plays on the idea of what should come first in your day or before you do anything important. Coffee is supposed to summon your strength to help you accomplish whatever you have to do.

I believe that even before we get to the coffee, the very first thing that should happen when you start your day or start anything is to do it through the lens of self-love.

What does it mean in practice? It means you view yourself as you do your best friends or children, accepting your mistakes and shortcomings with kindness and understanding.

Harvard Business Review confirms, that a compassionate way of being leads to higher levels of personal well-being, optimism, and happiness and to less anxiety and depression.

In all honesty, I was surprised that this phrase is not trademarked, too, like the original ode to coffee. But this means we've got another inspiring Mantra Staples shirt. 🙏

4. Yoga shirt with “Practice self-love” saying

This long-sleeve yoga top is also inspired by popular culture, specifically definition shirts. Yet, it still conveys the same message as the other self-love shirts above.

When creating this, I wanted to apply a simple definition shirt template to the self-love theme. These tops usually include the word, pronunciation, and the definition itself. They are super easy to find through quick Google searches. Below is what I would use if I stuck to my original idea.

self-love

noun

/ˌsɛlfˈlʌv/.

The feeling that your own happiness and wishes are important.

Not bad. Not bad at all. But as I started to play with the design I actually dropped the pronunciation and even the definition. Weirdly, I feel that dropping the definition has made the message clearer.

What's the message? We shouldn't get stuck on the theory. Now, every design element brings you back to the word self-love and asks you to practice it. So, instead of stating facts, it prompts action. At the same time, it acknowledges that we can't just suddenly feel it, just as yoga, self-love is a constant practice.

What do you think of this design? Would you prefer a simple-definition shirt? Do share in the comments.

5. Yoga shirt with “Self-care is healthcare” saying

But hey, I'm so excited that I can further spread this message through Mantra Staples and especially connect it to the very essence of yoga philosophy.

Whichever style of yoga you practice, you're ultimately taking care of your mind and body. If you have ever read the book Outlive, you know that taking care of yourself can help prevent several illnesses as well as increase not only your lifespan but also your good health.

But there is more to it. We can even say that self-love, which includes prioritizing self-care and happiness, is also family care, community care, and healthcare.

"Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world."

Etty Hillesum

Etty Hillesum has put it beautifully: By looking after ourselves, we add more positivity to the world. A beautiful yogi soul, Michael Stone, also once wrote: "Taking care of ourselves, we take care of one another. One hand will always wash the other." I even want to add the same idea to the mix from the famous Michael Jackson song Man in the Mirror. Change starts with the self.

"I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could've been any clearer
If they wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change."

Michael Jackson, Man in the Mirror

I hope you enjoyed this peek into the ideas behind Mantra Staples' yoga shirt collection, which focuses on self-love, self-acceptance, self-compassion, and self-care. Whether you're celebrating Valentine's Day with a partner or simply taking time for yourself, remember that self-love is the greatest gift. The question now is, are you inspired to have a love affair with yourself?


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