What is Self Care?

We all have stress, especially now during these uncertain times. Many of you have heard that self-care is important, and that we should infuse it into our daily lives, but what is Self-care? Self-care is any practice, ritual, or boundary that makes us feel a sense of stillness and equilibrium. It’s creating a life that nurtures things that help us continue doing what we love to do. Self-care helps us stay aligned with our needs and values. Many of us neglect self-care, we put it at the end of the list.

Here are a few easy ways to get started. Don’t worry about having a perfect routine right away, just start with little steps.

-Check in with yourself

Try starting in the morning with a bit of journaling or just taking a moment to pause and think about how you are feeling. Acknowledging those thoughts, reflecting on them can be so helpful. When you check in, think about whether this is how you want to spend your time, whether this is serving your bigger goals, and whether this is in alignment with what you care about. If you are not giving yourself what you need, how can you show up for everyone else?

-Set Boundaries, not rules

As women we get overwhelmed and our reaction can be to say ‘yes' to everything. Setting some boundaries for yourself can be challenging at first, but start small. A boundary can be taking a break, saying ‘no’ to a project you don’t have time for or limiting your time with technology. Listen to your inner voice and intuition, you know deep down what your limits and boundaries are. Give yourself some grace, they will evolve over time. Change them as needed.

-Move your BODY

You are much more than your working mind. There is the mental body, the physical body and the emotional body, and we spend most of our time in the mental body, often thinking about work. Get out of your head for a short break EVERYDAY, you are a whole, complete being that needs attention, nurturing and care. It could be something as simple as standing outside for 5 minutes every morning and stretching, it could be a short walk around the block each morning or every evening after dinner. Take classes, all kinds of classes, gentle restorative ones, challenging classes, find what you like, your body will tell you what it needs if you listen. Make movement of some kind a daily priority.

-Organize to energize

Prioritize your daily tasks. As humans we are wired for consistency. It can be difficult to stick to the same task or routine daily, but it is beneficial to have some kind of structure. Learn what daily things give you energy, and what things drain your energy. Plan accordingly. Schedule little breaks or bits of time off to recharge your batteries. We are all human and we all need rest.

-Invest in Yourself

Take the time for positive affirmations, celebrating your successes, big and small. It can be powerful. We all need to feel grounded and remind ourselves why we do what we do. We all need to find ways to take better care of each other, our community and our connections because we are social at heart. Find like-minded people that lift you up, find mentors that can guide and inspire you. Invest in yourself, you are worth it.

Everything overlaps between what we do professionally and how we are growing personally, that’s the Magic.

-Christina

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