Do you practice self care? If you don’t, you should!
Please know, Self care is NOT selfish!
Self care [ˌselfˈker]
NOUN
- the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health
Self care can look very different from one person to the next
For me, self care is practiced by how I am feeling on a particular day. Some days I am healthy and more empowered than others, other days my body may flare and self care is practiced because of my health needs. I had life-saving surgery in 2016 which led me to an extreme consciousness of my bodies needs.
I used to feel so guilty for taking time for myself and taking a break. Let alone taking sometimes, extensive amounts of time to nurture my body. I now feel great peace and comfort in taking time for myself as a daily practice.
In my humble opinion, self care shouldn’t just be set aside for those with health issues or those healing and not just women, but men and children too. Every person on this planet should learn how to listen to their bodies, relax, slow down, schedule weekly/daily electronic detoxes, take a day of rest each week, and take better care of themselves.
Self care doesn’t have to be extensive
You could pause from your work and just take a 15-minute break and stretch, go for a walk, read a book, etc… or it could be an hour-long Breathwork session or maybe your healing requires coffee enemas. Whatever is necessary in your personal walk. Nature is often my refuge for deep self care as well as the special places in my home that I have created to nurture me.
Simplicity of Self Care
Self care is just a way to pause, relax, regroup, take care of ourselves – mind, body, and Spirit. The key thing is learning to listen to your body and when it’s telling you it’s had enough, listening… and then progressing to a place that you just practice self care rather than letting your body get to that place…
My journey has necessitated a wide variety of self care from coffee enemas, to deep muscle therapy, long soaks (needle soaks or epsum salt to remove silicone), lots of walking, naps, lying flat in my compression swing, Breathwork, and now that I am healthier a nice long ride on the Harley, long hikes in my wilderness playground, weekly Breathwork sessions for myself, a lot of time spent in varying locations with God (be it a stump in the wilds, in my hammock between two trees, from the back of my bike, or from the comforts of my home), stretching, lifting weights, reading a good book, making a pair of leather moccasins, knitting socks, working on my jewelry projects… I was flat on my back for a year so I had a long time to ponder the things I missed and longed to do.
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19
“A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body;…” Proverbs 14:30
How do you practice self care?