Hitting All The Bases

Today I thought we might do a list just to be sure we are hitting all the bases when it comes to self care. This is not a to do list. This is more of an idea list, activities that just might fall into the category of Radical Self Care. These are small and totally optional ideas you might want to incorporate into your life.

Physical self-care: This involves taking care of your body by getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and attending regular medical checkups.

• Try to go for a walk every day. While you are walking, put a smile on your face. Also, it serves as an antidepressant.
• Eat more natural foods, avoid those that are highly processed.
• Be good to your body.
• Every morning do some exercise. It will boost the energy you need for the upcoming day.
• Dancing can be a great way to remove the feeling of being self-conscious about your body, and is also a fun way to exercise and enliven your spirits.
• Hydrate. Drink a lot of water and tea.
• Soak up some sun. Sunshine matters a lot, not just to your physical health, but also to your emotional and mental health.
• Massage might sound luxurious and self-indulgent, but massage helps reduce muscle pain and tension, reduce stress, and relax your body. You can book yourself a massage or you can administer massage on yourself.
• Seek out a sauna or spa or even your local gym, and allow the sweat to cleanse your body of impurities.
• Try yoga. The benefits of yoga extend far beyond physical health. Yoga also helps increase your focus, decrease stress and anxiety, and increase your sense of wellness.
• Move like you mean it. Movement is medicine both for our physical wellness but also for our mental health and it does not have to equate to an hour or two workout session, but can be broken up into multiple activities spread throughout the day.

Intellectual self-care: This involves stimulating your mind by engaging in activities that challenge your intellect, such as reading, learning new skills, or pursuing a hobby that interests you.

• Embrace your creative side and try hobbies that inspire you like painting, pottery, coloring, writing, knitting, etc.
• Celebrate your gifts and talents. Explore and enjoy them.
• Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day reading something unrelated to your job or studies.
• Audiobooks are a great way to increase your knowledge on the go. You can listen to audiobooks while driving, walking, working out, doing house chores, etc.
• Create a Vision Board. A vision board is a visual representation of the dreams and goals.
• Play More Music. Music has the power to shift your mood and improve your memory and cognitive function. Create a playlist of music that brings you joy and soothes you.
• Spend money on experiences such as traveling, wine tasting, museums, etc.

Mental self-care: This involves taking steps to reduce stress, manage your thoughts, maintain healthy relationships, and promote overall well-being.

• Do some journaling. A journal is a safe place for you to work through your feelings, without judgments or criticism. It can serve as a confidant and guide.
• Negative thoughts have a way of dragging your down into the dumps. Challenging these negative thoughts and replacing them with more positive ones is one great act of self-care.
• Avoid wasting your time focusing on problems from the past, energy vampires, negative thinking, or things that are out of your control. Invest your time and energy on positive and present things.
• Minimize the clutter in your home, and in your mind.
• Take time to focus on being your best self.
• A great way to purposefully give yourself a break from the stressful fast pace of our world, is to unplug digitally as often as possible.
• The simple act of focusing on what we are grateful for can help us reduce negative thoughts and shift our perspective toward seeing what is positive in our lives and all that we have already accomplished.

Emotional self-care: This focuses on taking care of your emotional wellbeing by identifying and expressing your feelings, managing stress levels, and developing positive coping mechanisms.

• Be kind to yourself.
• Learn to say no. Many people struggle with saying “No” to other people’s demands, whether it was to please others or simply out of generosity.
• Stop comparing yourself to other people. You are you. No apologies, no regrets!
• Create a “No” list. As much as we lean into what “To Do” in self-care, of equal importance is identifying things to say “no” to.
• Your home is your shelter, where you feel most protected and where you recharge after a long day. Take the time to make your home comfortable and cozy.
• Never compare yourself, nor your life to other people. You cannot know everything about their lives.
• Do not care about other people’s opinions about you! That is none of your business.
• Remember, either good or bad; a situation will always change.
• Commit to not allowing unkind words about your body or yourself to occupy space in your mind.
• It’s important to check in with yourself as often as possible. Do you feel tired? Stressed? Overwhelmed? If so why do you feel this way and how can you take better care of yourself?
• Studies show that laughter can be a great stress buffer. It doesn’t matter how intense the laughter is — even smiling helps.
• Take a breath in through your nose, hold for 5 seconds, and breathe out through your mouth. This simple mindful breathing exercise helps reduce your stress level, relieve pain, and increase your energy.

Social self-care: This involves nurturing your relationships with others by spending time with loved ones, joining social groups, and reaching out to others for support when needed.

• Put a smile on someone’s face every day.
• Spend time with people who love you for you.
• Learn to agree when to disagree. In fact, you cannot always be right.
• Tend to help people that are in need. Try to give, not to take.
• Create a Social Self-Care Plan.
• Hide A Love Note For Someone Special.
• Ask for help. Receiving is a skill that can be learned and strengthened. It helps you bring more balance into your life and relationships.

Spiritual self-care: This connects you with your spiritual beliefs by engaging in activities that fulfill your spiritual needs, such as meditation, prayer, or connecting with nature.

• Take 10 minutes a day to stay silent.
• Practice patience. When you become more patient with others, situations, and yourself, you become more peaceful. This helps you manage stress better and enjoy your life more.
• Spend as much time in nature as you can and try bringing nature to you. Get yourself a houseplant, or start a window herb garden.
• Develop a regular meditation practice.
• Give yourself permission to commit to your self-care plan, especially when you’re experiencing feelings of guilt or are unfamiliar with self-care.
• Create daily or weekly rituals that bring you into a closer connection with Spirit.
• Find a group of likeminded people with whom you can spend time doing spiritual, magickal, inspirational, or healing activities.
• Take Mindful Moments. This simple and easy practice can take anywhere from 2-10 minutes, depending on individual need and can be done almost anywhere. Simply stop and be fully in the moment.

The most important thing to remember about self-care is that it is really all about YOU – to identify, embrace and indulge in whatever elements bring you peace, nourishment, joy and enhanced wellbeing for your life’s journey.

Sources:

• Ineffable Living
• Gotta Do The Right Thing
• You Aligned