Chances are, if you’re rushing to get to this article, you’re probably just as bad at taking time out of your calendar to focus on yourself and your own needs as much as I am guilty of it.
Prioritising everyone else in our lives always seem like the right thing to do, but in reality, you’re actually forgetting about yourself and that doesn’t help either parts. For you to truly take care of others, you first need to take care of yourself, and I’m here to give you a few little ideas to amp up the self-care regime significantly.
Are you comfortable? First step. Let’s go..
1. Listen to a podcast or audiobook:
One of my favourite things to do is listening to podcasts about a particular subject I’m passionate about. E.g. I love to listen to anything that delves further into gut-health, diet and how we can heal our bodies through natural remedies, herbs and supplements.
Audiobook are also a great way to relax and rewind, instead of reading a book. Already have a favourite book you love? Try downloading it on Audible or iTunes, plop in your headphones, and chillax.
My favourite audiobooks are spiritual editions or ‘self-help’ books that see’s me learning as I go. If you have a hard time relaxing, this may be for you, as you still feel like you ‘take something away’ from your self-care session.
2. Tune into your meditation & mindfulness practice:
I know, this one is a hard one. Even myself, who’s a vedic meditator, find it hard to find the ‘want’ to sometimes do my meditations. My morning meditations I will always do, however I’m at times lacking at finding time to do it in the afternoons. Often, I also won’t do it, because part of me resist it. That’s my ego chatting (hello, there!) and telling me lies.
I know, that when I tune into my meditation and mindfulness practice I’m a better version of myself – for others, but mainly for my inner world. It’s much calmer, and less anxious.
As much as we should never ‘force’ ourselves to do anything, sometimes I feel I need to force myself to do my afternoon-meditations because I know I’ll feel better after it, and I know it’s not my true Self that is wanting to escape it.
Meditation lowers your heart-rate, your breathing becomes of much better quality and your anxious and stressed mind settles into the peace that is always available to us if we want it.
3. Get cooking good looking:
Yes, I did in fact say cooking!
To me, cooking is another form of meditation. Using my hands and mind to create something that will nourish and do me good in the end, is a lot of fun and also very exciting.
It teaches you a lot, in particular patience & trial and error – assets that are incredibly useful in life. Just think of the ingredients as little people, you know what I mean?
And maybe you want to be better at cooking? Well, give yourself that time to learn and delve into that world. It’s all about YOU, remember?
4. Sip on a cup of tea & binge-watch your favourite tv-show:
If you follow me, you’d know I quit drinking coffee a few months ago now. Instead, I swapped it with tea and now I can’t live without it. I’m especially loving Earl Grey in the morning as it’s got natural caffeine in it from the black tea, but recently I’ve upped my intake of Fennel Tea & Liquorice Tea – both really good for digestion, settling tummies but also as relaxant teas. Add a splash of milk & honey, and jump on the couch (or in bed!) to binge-watch your favourite tv-show on Netflix.
Who cares whether you love watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Game of Thrones or Bold & The Beautiful? Don’t judge yourself, we all have a closet-secret when it comes to tv-shows. Just delve into it, and forget about everything else but yourself and your tea. Capiche?
5. Stop saying ‘I SHOULD’:
Are you already nodding your head, because you know what I’m talking about?
How many times, if you counted, in a day, do you think you said to yourself ‘I should…’? Most will answer; far too many!
If you’ve read ‘How To Get Sh*t Done’ you will know what I’m talking about.. For those of you who hasn’t, this is what I mean:
Should is a word that implies obligation and expectation and often comes as a box set that’s gift-wrapped in guilt and even shame. It’s also a word that implies an open-endedness and the absence of a decision. It describes possibility rather than reality. “I should go to the gym” is not the same as “I’m going to the gym.” “I’m going to the gym” is definitive. You’ve got a plan and you’re executing that plan. There’s no feeling involved, it’s simply a commitment. The person saying “I should go to the gym” might end up by lacing up her runners, or she might spend another hour on the couch. Not only does should suggest things are still up in the air, it’s almost always a negative.
And whose expectations are we meeting—or worse, failing—when we badger ourselves with should?
This can be a tricky tangle to unpick. But it’s worth slowing down and examining if you’re being pulled toward doing something because you believe it’s the right thing to do or because you’re conforming to a societal expectation that doesn’t serve you.
So, quit should’ing and start doing what you want to do – without guilt or shame!
6. Get out amongst nature & get your Biophilia on:
Bio what? Biophilia means having the urge to affiliate with other forms of life & connect with nature – something most of us could benefit hugely from.
You’ve probably also heard the term ‘Earthing’ from all those Hipsters & Hippies around you, but you know what? They (me included) are really onto something. Connecting with nature, and getting out into the open whether it’ll be 40 degrees or -10 degrees, it will all help you reconnect with yourself, the Universe and Mother Earth.
Even better if you can get your shoes off and sink you feet into the grass, sand or water to further promote the connecting between skin and nature. It’s very healing & relaxing when we allow ourselves to live and breathe at the same vibrations as nature & the Earth do.
7. Get your Sweat On:
We all know it; exercising and moving our bodies works wonders for our minds and gives us that ‘feel good-feeling’.
Whether it’ll be HIIT, Pilates, Yoga, Running, Tennis, Dancing or even Rockclimbing – whatever tickles your fancy when it comes to exercise that gives you that sense of ‘I’ve treated myself nicely’ get out and do it for your selfcare session.
When we exercise, we allow our bodies to produce more serotonin and endorphins completely naturally – both helps us to feel happier, less stressed, less anxious and much more energetic for the entire day, especially if we exercise in the morning.
8. Take over the bathroom & pamper yourself silly:
You have full permission to start this right.as.we.speak.. Get going.
Not only is it uber rancho relaxo to setup your own little beauty and pampering-spa, it’s also good for your biggest organ – your skin.
Use facial masques that contain clay, aloe vera, honey, cucumber or hyaluronic acid to help you really slip into relaxation and then either fill the bathtub with some epsom salt & lavender and chill out or head back into the couch and pop some cucumber slices over your eyes.
Chiiiiill baby G.
9. Laugh until your tummy hurts:
Whether it’s a comedy-show, a funny YouTube clip or laughing with your friends or boyfriend/girlfriend, it all counts.
Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies and improving your resistance to disease. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals which will help promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
Need more info? Get laughing. The belly-laughs kinda-ones are even better.
10. Write in your journal:
If you’re new to this, you may find it slightly strange and weird to start with. Like, what should I say or write? I know everything, it’s in my head, I don’t need to waste my time writing it down with a pen..
However, that is the point exactly. Every single day we are bombarded with exterior impressions, questions and demands along with our own inner-judge we all have that it can, at times, all become far too much – we don’t want to get to that point.
Starting to journal down your thought, emotions and ideas every single day can really help you to off-load some of the worries you may have. It can also help you to bring that idea to life that you’ve been thinking about for years.
Either way; you give yourself permission to feel and express whatever is going on, on the inside, even though you’re just expressing it to yourself.
Our brains often understand somethings much better once they’re noted down, and have been said out loud in the real world.
Give it a try – whats the worst that can happen?
11. Stay in your PJ’s all day long:
Yep, this one is simple, but incredibly hard for a lot of us to do..
Sometimes, our bodies need to just RELAX and rewind. Sometimes we need sleep, we need rest and we need to listen to what our bodies are telling us.
We live in a world where our society swears by a go-go-go attitude and that’s great at times, but sometimes that ends up with fatigue, stress and depression.
Giving yourself full permission to stay in bed, drink tea, moose around in your PJ’s, eat ice-cream for breakfast and breakfast for dinner is okay!
Caroline xx
