21 Days of Mirror Work
A few years ago, I had reached a point when I was done with being my own worst enemy. You know those moments when you’re just sick and tired of your own bullshit! That was me. I was sick and tired of struggling with my low self-worth, negative self talk and self-loathing. I remember making a commitment to myself to make a change and as part of that commitment to myself I read two of Louise’s books; You Can Heal Your Life and The Power Is Within You, and as a result started using affirmations as a devout daily ritual, for months on end.
The affirmations had me feeling so much more optimistic, confident, worthy, valuable and in control of my own life. It was like I started to see the world through rose-coloured, heart-shaped glasses. After YEARS of barely paying the interest on my $6k maxed out credit card, using affirmations and working on my sense of self-worth helped me break that cycle and pay off the whole $6k within 6 months. But as time went on, I regretfully became complacent and my daily affirmation practice started to dwindle. Let me just say that doing small things consistently add up and make a big difference! I’ve since read about this. It’s called the compound effect!
Anyway, fast forward to August 2022, the book Mirror Work by Louise Hay, showed up in my life and it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Mirror Work isn’t just a book. It’s a practical “21 day program to heal your life”. The book includes daily mirror work exercises, guided meditations, journalling prompts, and affirmations for each of the 21 days.
Louise says “The most powerful affirmations are those you say out loud when you are in front of your mirror.” so based on my previous experience with using affirmations, I was looking forward to take the practice to the next level.
I read the book and did this work whilst I was also journeying through The Spiral (for the third time) and doing some deep healing work with my business coach at the time! So I found it a great tool to support me through the deep healing work I was in the midst of.
I felt compelled to share this tool because of the positive impact it has had on my life, and also because my mission is to empower women to recognise their own value and worth, just as they are, so it would be selfish for me to keep it to myself. I hope you try it for yourself.
What is mirror work?
Mirror work is a practice in which you look at and speak to yourself in the mirror positively, with love and compassion. The aim of this practice is to learn to love yourself and build a more secure and healthy relationship with yourself and the world.
This type of work can be very healing, if you’re willing to confront yourself and get honest with your emotions and the way you really think about and see yourself.
What’s covered in the 21 days?
Here’s a summary of the topics covered in Louise’s book.
Day 1 - Loving yourself
Day 2 - Making your mirror your friend
Day 3 - Monitoring your self-talk
Day 4 - Letting go of your past
Day 5 - Building your self-esteem
Day 6 - Releasing your inner critic
Day 7 - Loving yourself: a review of your first week
Day 8 - Loving your inner child
Day 9 - Loving your inner child
Day 10 - Loving your body, healing your pain
Day 11 - Feeling good, releasing your anger
Day 12 - Overcoming your fear
Day 13 - Starting your day with love
Day 14 - Loving yourself: a review of your second week
Day 15 - Forgiving yourself and those who have hurt you
Day 16 - Healing your relationships
Day 17 - Living stress free
Day 18 - Receiving your prosperity
Day 19 - Living your attitude of gratitude
Day 20 - Teaching mirror work to children
Day 21 - Loving yourself now
What happened during my 21 days of mirror work?
I did all the exercises and journalling prompts for 21 consecutive days and noticed a profound shift in the relationship with myself and life. This work definitely changed the way I view myself. I learnt to love and accept myself on a deeper level, and by the end of the 3 weeks I felt a lot more compassion towards myself. I let go of shame and resentment. I released anger and forgave people who had hurt me in the past. I also forgave myself for neglecting myself and treating myself poorly.
I reconnected with and nurtured my inner child. I started to revisit activities I loved as a child and became more playful and creative again. I faced my fears and created more safety, acceptance and permission for me to be myself.
After the first week I already felt an overall improvement in my mood and daily outlook on life. Each morning when I woke up, my daily mirror work was something I looked forward to. Here are some of my reflections.
On day 7 I wrote in my journal: “I feel more in my heart and less in my head. It feels nice to not hate myself or criticise myself.”
On day 14 I wrote in my journal: “I feel stronger and more capable. I feel loved. I feel beautiful. I am kinder to myself. I feel like my energy has risen. I have more gratitude for myself and my body. I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”
On day 21 I wrote in my journal: “I’ve released a lot of the fears I had around having a baby and becoming a mum. I actually feel a lot of excitement about it now. There’s now more desire than fear, where as before I started the mirror work there was more resistance and fear of losing my independence, than there was desire.” This was such a beautiful and totally unexpected shift. What a gift :)
If you’re looking to cultivate a more loving relationship with yourself, improve your sense of self-worth and heal past wounds that are holding you back, I highly recommend reading the book, putting it into practice and continuing to make mirror work a part of your everyday life. Even it it sounds a little corny, give it a go. Commit to the 21 days. Investing in yourself in this way will bring you great (and perhaps unexpected) rewards. You’ve got nothing to lose and so much to gain.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask about mirror work email me at: hello@jaynemartin.com