Considering the last two years of the pandemic and our lives changing, it is important to take time for your self-care. Taking care of yourself is more than doing a beauty night to feel better (although that is fun). Self-care is about relaxing, finding time for yourself, doing activities that build up your mind, and taking care of your body. While this topic is broad, this blog post will be used to go over general self-care activities you can do to help you grow as a person. Engaging yourself both physically and mentally is important in the pursuit of self-care.
Let’s look at some of the ways you can take part in self-care:
Mindfulness
Being mindful requires putting a focus on what you are doing or experiencing at a given moment. Mindfulness asks that you experience the moment without any judgment or interpretation. Other aspects of mindfulness include imagery, breathing techniques, etc., to relax and destress.
Being mindful takes practice, when I first started to practice mindfulness, it felt awkward. As I was becoming aware of my environment, I would think to myself, this is what I am feeling right now, the room is hot or cold, and if any sensations were bothering me, I would accept them and then let them go.
Mindfulness exercises include paying close attention to what you are doing and focusing on it one step at a time. This experience can also include paying attention to your five senses in the process.
Being present is also an aspect of mindfulness practice. For example, not thinking about the past or an hour from now. Simply being in the moment and experiencing whatever you are doing at the time.
Accepting who you are is also another method of mindfulness. This involves compassionately acting towards yourself. Always watch your self talk, and if you catch your mind telling you negative things, think would I accept others talking to me in this manner. Chances are the answer will be no.
Exercise
Self-care includes taking care of yourself inside and out. This doesn’t mean that you must have a perfect body, but it does mean that it is beneficial to get out at some point during the day and get your body moving. Even just going for a walk can be helpful. Exercise can improve your mood, and lower stress, while increasing self-confidence.
Other bonuses of exercise include pumping up those endorphins. Physical movement may help to bump up your mind’s natural feel-good chemistry. In addition to this, exercise can play a similar role to meditation. For one thing, you have something positive to focus on, and your body will feel better while forgetting daily irritations.
Rejuvenating your mind
Clearing and rejuvenating your mind can help to reset your mind and clear out the clutter floating around. Let’s face it like a computer, sometimes your mind needs a reset too. A few things you can do to rejuvenate your mind is to try a digital detox. This means staying off social media or technologies that cause stress for a period. Sometimes too much technology (while technology is good) can cause more havoc than help.
Another thing you can try is a gratitude journal. Focusing on simply writing down three to five things that you are grateful for at the same time each day can help you to truly see what is good in your life and can shed more positivity into your daily routine.
Bliss + You 