Yes, You Do Need To Practice Self Care

Yes, you do need to practice self care! You deserve it!

Self care is a catch-phrase nowadays. And, with good reason. It’s really true what they say: you can’t fill anything with an empty bucket and you can’t pour from an empty cup (and a ton of other cliches like this one).

But what really counts as self care? The simple answer is that anything that makes you feel good about you is self care. Everyone’s self care rituals are different. What makes you feel good may not give me the good feels and visa versa.

I have friends who go for a long run as a form of self care. Me? Not so much… I’m more of a pilates or yoga person and a long run would make me feel miserable. So, rule number one is this: You do YOU… don’t copy anyone else. We are all wonderfully, beautifully unique and that’s what makes us so awesome.

I’m going to give you some ideas for self care. But keep in mind, that you should only choose the ones that resonate with you and that you are pretty sure will make you feel good and feel good about yourself.

Yes, You Do Need To Practice Self Care And Here Are Some Ideas

1. Take a relaxing bath.

When you make bathing a ritual instead of an obligation, it’s an amazing thing. You can add whatever essential oil makes you smile, or toss some fresh herbs in the water. Candles are great. Relaxing music is a great addition. Fresh flowers — yes. And mood lighting is key. Then just sit there and breathe.

2. Have a cuppa

Tea drinking actually relaxes you, and like a bath ritual, a tea ritual can really be just what the doctor ordered. Here’s a great article on tea rituals. 

3. Cloud watch

Go outside, take of your shoes and lie on your back on the grass. Make sure you are barefoot so the nerve endings on the bottom of your feet reap the rewards of all of the energy in the ground. Breathe. Look up. Study the clouds. Stay here as long as possible — this can’t help but relax and ground you.

4. Dance

Dance like nobody’s watching. Jump around. Be silly. You don’t need to carve out any extra time in your day for this — try it in the kitchen while cooking, or while talking on the phone. Or, get a standing desk and rock out while you are going through your emails.

5. Meditate

Okay, yes this photo is to die for, but meditating on your couch will do just fine… Try to carve out 20 minutes every single morning to focus on your breath. It will do you wonders.

6. Unplug

Yes, we all know we should do this but have you really done it? Start small and shut your phone off for one hour. Don’t look at it at all. Don’t think about it. The next day, go for 2 hours. Increase the amount of time you are unplugged each day. Find the maximum amount of time you can handle without totally stressing yourself out.

Here’s one thing that has helped me: Every night at 10pm my phone goes into privacy mode until 8am the next morning. I have it set to only allow calls and notifications from my favorites (my husband and my children); this allows me to not worry that I’m missing something urgent.

7. Make one small healthy dietary change each week

This really is self care. Pick one thing. Kale? Probiotics? Lemon water? Whatever you think sounds good and will make you feel better is the thing to start with. I’ve got tons of ideas on this, and if you want to discuss it, just sign up for a free phone consultation with me and I’ll get you started.

8. Eat dinner alone

It always amazes me when people say they don’t like to eat alone. I love it! I’m not saying that everyone should love going out to a restaurant by themselves (but this really  makes you feel good afterwards too…) but, when you have the chance to eat alone, you can eat anything you want! You don’t have to take anyone else into consideration. You can have dinner at 4:00! And, cooking for yourself is true self-care.

The Paleo Pasta in this photo is my go-to cook-for-myself meal. It takes 5 minutes to prepare and it includes all of my favorite ingredients that nobody else in my house likes: olives, anchovies, and sardines… don’t knock it til you’ve tried it!

9. Get advice that’s just for YOU

I’m partial to this one because this is what I do for a living and it is my true passion. So, sign up for a Free Phone Consultation with me — it’s easy and it’s fun and it’s just for you. Because you deserve it!