Self-Care is an important thing to practice. Self-care is literally taking care of yourself Physically, Emotionally, Spiritually, and Energetically.
I believe Self-Care is a choice. If each of us cultivated and practiced daily self-care rituals, we would free ourselves from a lot of stress and upset.
As “busy” people, some of you spend a LOT more time on other people than you do on yourselves. Does that resonate with you? If so, I invite you to investigate this further within yourself.
If you have ever flown in an airplane, part of the Safety Procedure before every flight includes the admonition, in case of an Emergency, to put on your own oxygen mask first, THEN help others around you with their oxygen mask.
You may be wondering what Self-Care is for you. Let’s find out! Ask yourself, “what could taking care of myself look like?” See what shows up in your awareness.
This may come as a shock to you (brace yourself!), but self-care will NOT involve a computer, a phone, surfing the web or Social Media, XBox, Wii, or anything else electronic!!!
brenkee / Pixabay
Self-care will be different for everyone. Some examples of self-care could be: Meditate. Listening to soothing music. Pray. Enjoy the Quiet and Stillness. Focus on your breathing. Take a Bubble Bath. Write. Journal. Hum. Tune into Crystals. Use and tune into Essential Oils. Get a Massage or do self-massage. Visualization. Do EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). Do Energy Healing or Reiki. Tune into your Intuition, Spirit Guides, Guardian Angels, etc. Set intentions. Take a Nap. Read. Nature Walk. Yoga. Stretching. Exercise. Stacking rocks (one of my friends loves doing this!). Sipping Tea.
How do you start to incorporate Self-care into your life? Two ways:
SAY NO!!!
Go ahead, think of someone asking you to do something or help with something and say “NO” right now. Feels weird, doesn’t it? Well, it won’t after you practice it a few times on the next requests that come your way!!! Saying “NO” is the greatest thing you can do for yourself. It frees up your time and your energy. It engages your will. Saying “NO” allows you to see how much you were saying “YES” to for so long. Allowing yourself the opportunity to say “NO” brings forth your TRUE DESIRES for what you want to say “YES” to.
Downtime.
Actually scheduling downtime or “Me Time” in your schedule will help keep you on track. Empaths (people who feel other people’s emotions and energy), whose who are Intuitive, Highly Sensitive People, Introverts, and Ambiverts (people who have both introvert and extrovert qualities) especially need to carve out and allow for plenty of downtime/alone time/me time. Downtime isn’t being lazy, it is how a lot of us recharge. During this downtime is when you ‘do’ one of the items on your Self-care list.
How does that feel to you? Do you need to incorporate more self-care into your daily life? Which type of Self-care will you start implementing?
I need to do a better job at self-care. Right now I’m working 6 days a week and the 7th day is spent visiting my mother and taking her around on her errands. I need self-care after those visits.
YES!!! I realize I don’t take any dedicated days off (I work every morning and sometimes afternoons) and will start incorporating those pronto!!
I hum, sing, do self-massage, reiki, chakra balancing, nerve floss, stretch, and nap. What I neglect doing is drinking enough water. This should help significantly with my self-care. Thanks for this great reminder!
Lovely Maria! Water is a good one!
Gosh, I really need to learn more self-care! I’m busy from morning til night and never take time for myself. Thanks for the great info!
You’re welcome, Martha!
Self Care. I think I shouldnt forget about myself. Do not give everything out to all those you are helping. But still Im debating about this thought. Thanks for this post.
You’re welcome Cha. It is amazing how often we don’t come first or we forget ourselves. I’m thrilled this post got you thinking!
Not quite self-care, but I adopted a no work on weekends to ensure I saved time for my family.
But, once the work day is done (somewhere between 11 PM and 1 AM), I enjoy a book and useless TV. (I do swim every morning- before the work day begins, too.)
I love no-work weekends, both for you and your family! Great decision!
I am sorely lacking in “me” time working multiple jobs and being so busy most of the time….scheduling is a great idea…if it makes it on the “to do” list it will get done.
Exactly! I think to start, you definitely have to schedule it in and STICK TO IT no matter what! Roar! 🙂
Me-time is a challenge for me, living more Self Care. I am to easy sucked back into the work-modus. Good reminder Jyll!