Self care is a gift to yourself. You are responsible for filling your cup full so you can fruitfully share with others. It’s a priority that should stay high on your to do list regardless of what tries to get in the way. I must admit it is hard at times to find a balance and achieve this. Life requires us to focus and commit to many things. Here is a list I composed of 10 ways to practice self care.
1. Write a letter to yourself to practice self care
Have you ever wanted to receive good feedback from peers?
What compliment did you expect your partner to say when you changed your hair?
Sometimes the things others fail to say can end up decreasing your own self confidence. Therefore, I encourage you to write a letter to yourself and include everything you want to hear. There is no limits with this. If you get stuck you can write a short encouragement email to yourself. Hit the send button and read it aloud. Furthermore you can go into more detail doing this activity by highlighting all your positive attributes or reframing your flaws. Notice a feeling of empowerment after completing your first letter.
2. Listen to your favourite music
Music raises your vibration massively and can help you too. It radiates many feelings, emotions and thoughts. It has a knock on effect on how you start your day. Listen to your favourite music when you need to be uplifted. Creating different playlists in response to your feelings can help too.
For example : When feeling nervous or lost turn to your inner strength playlist.
3. Enjoy a bath to practice self care
Immerse your senses and enjoy a relaxing bath. Being in water is very therapeutic. It makes you feel light and calm. It even prepares you for a good night sleep. Enjoy a bath and add your favourite body products to your ritual to enhance your self care and feel at one with yourself whilst soaking in lots of goodness.
Not sure what to use in the bath? Find out how to have an African black soap bath here.
4. Exercise to start practicing self care
Exercise is one of the best forms of physio and emotional therapy I take pride in. It helped me to release so many emotional blocks I was hoarding inside. Also it works wonders at accelerating my confidence. Exercise wakes up the body and all its autonomic functions. Use this time to get to know your body. Enjoy each movement and say some mental affirmations to keep the momentum going. After completing just 10 minutes it can release so much mental and physical tension. Most importantly it gives you a boost of energy.
5. Organise your space
Organisation is really important. It enables you to retrieve something easily without great effort. Items generally look more appealing to when they are neatly ordered. Going through your personal belongings once a month can help you to identify the things that no longer serve you. As a result, you will feel like your starting fresh again and welcoming new things into your life.
6. Eat a healthy meal
Cooking or treating yourself to a healthy meal is a great way to practice self care. Ensuring you get enough greens, water and fruit in your body is essential to functioning well daily. Healthy doesn’t have to be complicated either. Think of one nutritious food and accompany it with something else you like.
7. Get uninterrupted sleep to practice self care
Undoubtedly, after a long day the body needs to rest. Therefore, your place of retreat should be comfortable and peaceful. Switch on the silent or do not disturb setting to ensure you get uninterrupted sleep during the night. Spritz lavender, frankincense or myrrh over pillows to help you to relax. After all, you owe it to yourself to have the best night sleep.
8. Treat yourself
Subsequently,treat yourself to a gift. This could be after receiving your monthly salary. Or a more frequent habit occurring daily.
In my past relationship, when Greg and I would chat on the phone he’d ask me one simple question that stuck in my mind “Did you do something nice for yourself today?” I’d think long and hard before answering, totally overlooking all the small things I did which actually count. Like eating my favourite fast food at the time (McDonald’s chicken nuggets).
Remember, treating yourself doesn’t have to be major or a big splurge. As long as it puts a smile on your face that is all that counts.
9. Give a helping hand
Moreover, what are your values? One of mine is to treat others how I’d like to be treated. When I give a helping hand by just offering to hold the door open because the person ahead of me has their hands full. It makes me feel good because I’ve had a positive effect on someone else. Most importantly the small seeds we sew end up flowing, growing, maturing and eventually build our characters to be even greater.
10. Being quiet to practice self care
Find that inner silence daily by meditating, breathing or practicing mindfulness. Don’t be afraid to be away from your phone either. Reading a chapter from the Bible or any religious book can help you connect to God. Being quiet to practice self care is as simple as listening to a conversation and acknowledging someone instead of always feeling the need to have a long winded response. Self reflection will naturally stem from this self care practice. If you’re new to this you might experience inner chatter. Just be present and be quiet.
Watch your thoughts like clouds
Coley Awakend
Conclusion
10 ways to practice self care is a quick guide to taking care of yourself so you can show up daily in this world with vibrance and positivity. Try out one for the rest of the week. Above all, notice the small changes it makes to your mood, energy, or time.
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10 ways to practice self care
