Loving your life begins with self-care. How do I know? 5.5 million Instagram posts are marked #selfcare. 2018 is the year of loving YOU.
What is Self-Care?
Caring for yourself goes beyond bath salts. Although those are nice. Self-care is a bit deeper. It’s looking after yourself with the same tenderness as a child. I like to call it Mothering yourself.
How Do You Start a Self-Care Practice?
It’s called SELF-care because the practice is up to you. Whatever lifts up your emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well being is self-care. Do one thing every day that makes you feel alive and happy. Some ideas: dancing, drinking water with lemon, exercise, playing the guitar, meditating, gardening, playing with your dog, watching comedy, talking to a friend, or painting.
Find a sacred space in your home where you can retreat. Steer clear of your workspace. Make sure it’s clutter-free and filled with things that make you happy.
Your Self-Care Style
Your environment affects your physiology. The throw on your couch, the candles you burn, and pictures on your wall impact you in some way. If the fabric of the blanket is soft and cozy, you’ll feel wrapped up in love and peace. If the blanket is old and scratchy, you won’t feel as comfy. Burning candles, especially once with fragrances emit toxins in the air you breathe. Upgrade your candles to natural materials like beeswax (best), coconut/vegetable oils/vegetable oils (better), or soy (good). Glance at the decor on your walls. Do you feel uplifted or annoyed? Everything in your home carries an energy. It can evoke memories, which play into your well being. Upgrade your life one item at a time. Here are ways to add light to your life:
- Fresh flowers
- Display your artwork
- Frame photos of family and friends
- Silky fabrics with colors pleasing to your eye
- Essential oil diffuser – use spearmint to focus and peace & calming to relax
- Use candles for low lighting
- Declutter your space – when you walk into a messy room, it stresses you out
- Set boundaries with family, so you can honor your “me time”
- Listen to calming songs – here’s one of my favorites
- If you enjoy reading, display books that changed your life
- Open up your set of watercolor paints and play
- Windchimes
- Gorgeous journal
- If movies are your thing, make time to watch them
- A warm water bottle is soothing if you’re open to it
- Eye pillow
- Natural lotions
- Meditation pillow
- Mala beads
- Himalayan salt lamps
- Anything that inspires you
What Activities Make You Feel Good?
I challenge you NOT to reach for your phone the millisecond you wake up. Why? Reading email, news, or Facebook puts you in a reactive mode. It makes you feel hectic like you need to start rushing around. Instead, carve out some nurturing time and ease into your day. Here are my favorites:
If you’re new to mindfulness, try a meditation app. Ten minutes of silence per day lowers blood pressure and boosts happiness. Taking time to pause will open your mind to divine downloads allowing you to connect to your purpose.
Whether you’re creative or not, making things makes you happy. It raises self-worth and reduces anxiety. Try painting, journaling, making videos or vision board. What do you want to create?
Moving your body = insta-happy! I love yoga. You may be more into HIIT or Soul Cycle. The trick isn’t to do what your friend loves at the gym. Choose activities you enjoy, so you’ll stick to a self-care system. Feel good endorphins here you come!
Clean up your home care products. What you eat is just as important as what you put on your skin or use to clean the sink. The chemicals seep into the bloodstream and affect your hormones, which can make trying to conceive a stressful time. Replace toxic cleansers with essential oil products. Choose quality oils. It may be tempting to buy a $10 bottle of oil at Home Goods. Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s the best. Essential oils will change your life.
Don’t fuss about what anyone recommends as a must-have self-care practice. Do it your way. Whatever makes you feel strong to face your day with a smile.
Remember: everything will work again after it’s unplugged.