So often we tell ourselves the story that we do not have the time to take care of ourselves. This of course often leads to pushing ourselves past our breaking point and ending up worn out, exhausted, or even sick. By stopping, listening to our bodies, and taking time to care for ourselves, we can create harmony and peace with our bodies and lives. Here are five quick and easy ways to give yourself some self care.
1. Check in with your body
Stopping and trying to listen to the cues your body offers you can be a great way to begin your self care. Are you feeling really worn out? Instead of another coffee, try going to bed early that night. Are you getting stomach pains when eating certain foods or by going too long without food? Try approaching your food or eating in a different way. Aching muscles that won’t go away? Try a hot bath with epsom salts or stretching. By building and strengthening the relationship between yourself and your body you will be able to tell when you are in need of a little extra self love and care.
2. Take yourself outside
When we are feeling chronically stressed or frustrated with a situation, a change of environment can be exactly what is necessary. When you sit and stew in one spot, you may begin to feel like there is nothing that will change what you are going through. The energy can become stagnant and heavy, and it may just make you feel worse. Taking a step outside to breathe, going for a brisk walk, or even taking the trash out at the end of the night can be ways for you to revitalize your own energy field and give yourself some power back to face the frustration in a new way.
3. Set Intentions
Another great way to strengthen your relationship with yourself is by checking in and seeing how you are doing, what you want to grow to become, and what you are appreciative of that has already happened. Some tasks to give yourself are writing 3 things in the morning you want to challenge yourself to do or learn that day, writing 3 things that you are grateful for at night, or even just making notes in a journal about how you are feeling that day. All of these grow your intuition and your understanding of yourself.
4. Add small treat into your life
Lips feel dry? Do a lip scrub. Is there a song that inspires you or really makes you feel powerful? Play it on repeat and let yourself feel all the good energy! Giving yourself the small things that bring you a little joy can have powerful reverberations in your life. You deserve to have small pieces of happiness sprinkled throughout your day, rather than saving it up for “one day” that may never happen. This can be anything from taking time to read something just for you, throwing a bath bomb in the tub on a Tuesday night, going for a short walk alone, or even watching that video you keep meaning to come back to.
5. List things you like about yourself
This can sometimes feel like a difficult thing to do, but the way we speak about ourselves is so important to our mood and the love and care we have for ourselves. Did you do that thing on your to-do list that was hard and not at all fun? Give yourself the appreciation and pride you deserve. Are you feeling self-conscious about your body? Appreciate your body for all that it does and all the ways it supports you. Did you make a mistake or have a regret about the way you handled a situation? Allow yourself grace and remember that you can keep pushing forward and make different choices tomorrow.
If you need a sign of someone telling you to take care of yourself, consider this to be it! You deserve to care for yourself. You and the enjoyment of your life is important and deserves to have effort, love, and time (even just 5 minutes) put into it.