I’m sure you have heard of the term self-care. Almost everyone has and almost everyone has practices some form of self-care at some point in there life. I’m a big advocate for anything that has to do with self-care. It’s great to indulge in a face mask, a bubble bath, and getting a mani-pedi. But, self care can be so much more then just on the physical level. It took me years to figure this out. A lot of burnout and hustle and then came the fall in the form of depression or illness or crippling anxiety. I still have to watch this because I know burnout is right around the corner if I’m not careful. So, now I try to focus on not just taking care of my body but feeding my soul as well on a daily basis.
I’ve learned a lot about balance since I tore ligaments in my ankle. It forced me to slow down. It was really the last straw of remembering myself and remembering how to take care of my body and soul which I had been neglecting. I learned that taking care of all aspects of our life is what helps to keep us in balance.
Do you ever have a list with 20 things on it? 30 things? That happens to me too. I get so carried away with what needs to get done. Even when it comes to feeding my soul I can be like this. The past few months I’ve really stepped back and reevaluated all my routines. Even my self-care routines. I’ve learned that ten minutes of meditation can be better then nothing. No need to meditate for two hours a day to get all the benefits. I used to be in the mentality that more was better. And if I couldn’t do it all then I ended up doing nothing. I’m glad to say that mentality is no longer apart of my mindset. I’m happy with my ten minutes of meditation. I haven’t been doing my yoga practice but I have been walking or at least trying to walk on a daily basis. I am so happy spring is here and getting outside daily is becoming more of a possibility.
I remember the days when I would just numb myself out with tv. Vegging out is fine once in awhile but I was doing it on a daily basis. And not in a healthy balanced way. I would sit in front of the tv and drink wine. Lots of wine. I would numb myself out with television, food, alcohol, and anything else that seemed to help me fleetingly. One day I had enough of this. I was burned out and exhausted. I decided I needed to start nurturing my inner child. For me that was coloring in an adult coloring book and dancing to some awesome music. That was when I discovered Qoya and Kundalini Dance.
Since my injury I realized that self-care should not be about obligation. It should not be number 100 on your list of things to do for the day. But, if you need to make time for it that is okay as well. Even taking ten minutes in the morning can feed the soul. I love to use insight timer app in the mornings before I do anything else.
Self-care is not one size fits all. It can look different from person to person and even from day to day. I know my self-care practices typically do not look the same everyday. The only thing I do try to stick to on a daily basis is writing in my journal in the morning. My self care has changed a lot over the years and I’m sure it will always be evolving. I am finally at a point in my life where I am okay with that and even excited about it. I do my sacred self-care practices to grow my own well being and faith walk.
