Self-care is an act of self-love that many of us overlook and allow our mind, body and spirit to run on empty. We are all guilty of doing so much for others at the detriment to ourselves, but if we start to practise self-care and bring into our daily lives a few simple things then we have far more energy and joy in our lives and can come from a far better place to do things for others too. Boost your self-care and feel the difference in your everyday life.
Self-care will help raise your vibration, stimulate more positive thinking and help you feel physically well. It can help reduce stress and anxiety and promote inner peace and calm.
Here are some ideas to boost your self-care and incorporate it into your daily routine.
1) Relaxation- taking some ME time. This can be anything from sitting down for 10 minutes with a cup of tea with your feet up and switching your mind off to taking a long bubble bath with your favourite candles, music and incense. The activity doesn’t matter as long as you have some time completely to yourself where you can just relax and be still, forget all that needs to be done, forget all worries and concerns and just BE, for a little while.
2) Rest- sleep. Ensuring you are not only getting enough hours sleep, but that they are quality hours of sleep where your body and mind can rejuvenate and recuperate. Maybe this isn’t so simple or easy, I know, but being aware of the need for proper rest and knowing that you deserve it can help you take steps to ensure you get it. This could be making sure you go to bed early, switching off from the day, having fresh bedding, stopping stimulants an hour before bed (TV, alcohol, Facebook, etc.)
3) Connect to nature– go outside, go for a walk, feel the earth under your feet, or maybe go to the beach and feel the sea air, sit on a rock, pick flowers, sit under a tree, anything that connects you with nature rather than the manmade environment most of us are faced with every day.
4) Pamper yourself– pampering is a great way to make yourself feel looked after and loved. Just taking a few minutes each night to lovingly apply your favourite face cream or gently massaging your hard working hands, of course if you have time you could also take a long bubble bath, have an afternoon nap, cook your favourite food, etc. but even just a few minutes of the day doing something loving for yourself will have a marked effect.
5) Move– put on your all time favourite song- sing along and dance! Let go of everything else and let yourself be in the music! (maybe close the curtains if the neighbours can see for this one!)
6) Turn off technology– we spend so much time glued to one screen or another; the tv, tablet, mobile, laptop; we convince ourselves we are too busy for self-care, but if you just turn off technology for half an hour (or preferably more) you’d be amazed how much you can do in that time and how much better you feel on every level. Not staring mindlessly at a screen can improve your well being, ease stress and enable better sleep and it frees up some extra ME time to do something nice for yourself.
7) Self-talk– look in the mirror or just sit down quietly and tell yourself how wonderful you are. No matter what type of day you have had, try and spend a few moments praising yourself up, showing appreciation for the miracle that you are. This can help reduce anxiety, promote calm and build self-esteem.
8) Do some Reiki!-of course, one of the best ways to show yourself how much you care and help improve your energy levels and unite mind, body and spirit. Even if you only have time to do a short session, it is better to do a little often than try to heal yourself in one mammoth session when you feel totally exhausted. A little Reiki every day goes a long, long way! For a super easy method you may like to read- Reiki Self-Healing Practise.
Self-care is self love and you more than anyone else deserve your own love.
