Tag Archives: Self Care

Holistic Health, Self Care

Wellness and Self Love

Leave a comment

You might wonder what wellness and self-love have in common?

Right from the time of our ancestors we’ve been told that while healthy food and exercise are essential to good health they’re not enough on their own. If we’re to achieve wholeself wellness we must also cultivate a good mindset, some form of spiritual (not necessarily religious) practice and balanced emotions.

There is no greater tool for transformation than deciding it’s time to start loving yourself.

Hating on yourself sabotages wellness and is a direct fast-route to creating imbalance. However, self-love and self-care gently support your emotional health, makings them an essential part of your holistic wellness practice.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of life it can be so easy to let self-care take a back seat as you rush about trying to get everything done.

To create a life you don’t feel desperate to escape, it’s vital you pay enough attention to your needs, your true needs. These are the choices you make that relax your body, calm your mind and make your soul feel wealthy. They’re little things in your daily life that rejuvenate and uplift you, like putting your phone aside to read a book. Or perhaps, a peaceful walk in nature, even the local park. Maybe it means an early night, or a calming bath before bed. Or even just ten uninterrupted minutes of quiet.

Your true needs are your own, they’re individual and different for everyone. Identify what creates that feeling of soul-wealth for YOU. And then commit to making them habits in your daily life.

5 Keys to Wellness

Of course there are many ways to create and maintain wellness, but these will get you started.

1. Make time every day to quiet your mind. Spending time in awareness in a place of stillness is one of the most powerful tools to restore balance. Daily meditation in all its forms from mindfulness to walking or dance meditation, helps this become a habit. Even five minutes is enough if it’s regular.

2. Support yourself to wellness by eating a healthy diet, loaded with antioxidant rich foods and superfoods. Try including the six flavours of salty, sweet, bitter, sour, pungent and astringent. Select and prepare your food with care and eat it with awareness.

3. Move!  Daily exercise is a must to keep your body flexible, mobile and young. It also keeps your mind sharp and improves your emotional wellbeing. Exercise takes many forms, find the one that’s right for both your preference and your age.

4. Create time for enough restful sleep. One of the most important factors for creating balance, and one that’s frequently overlooked, is good sleep. Sometimes being able to manage on little sleep is even viewed as a strength. But know this is not true! Adults need between seven and eight hours restful sleep every night to keep the immune system strong, the mind clear and the body in balance.

5. Release negative emotions like anger, shame, guilt or hurt. Hanging on to this residue from the past creates a toxic internal environment. Replace these with appreciation and love for all of yourself, your strengths and your challenges.

    Holistic wellness is about harmonising and balancing on all levels, mind, body, emotions and spirit and we only achieve this balance when we address all these aspects of ourselves.

    It’s crucial to your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health to make time in your hectic schedule to look after and appreciate yourself.

    The important message is, it’s never too late to improve your health.

    Decide how you can best show yourself some love today. Start small and simple and watch your wellness bloom.

    Nature's Rhythms, Self Care, Stress & Overwhelm

    5 Great Self-Care Practices For Autumn

    Leave a comment

    As Autumn settles in it’s time to treat yourself with compassion.  Be conscious this is the season to be gentle, and wrap yourself with TLC.  If you are someone who is constantly there for everyone else, now is the time to turn that caring inwards and say ‘no’ to others.  It is only by first caring for your own needs that you can adequately care for those around you.

    Although we know that self care is so important it can be difficult to know how to start.  Self care begins with self love.  Self love has nothing to do with being selfish.  Rather, it’s about attending to your needs not about putting yourself before others.  It is a vital step on the pathway to Soul Empowered Wellness.

    how to practice self care

    If you wish to grow in consciousness and walk a path of integrity and authentic power, one of the most fundamental steps is to attend to your self-care.  It all begins with self-love, the simple act of honouring yourself with kindness and respect.  Practicing self care requires you tune into your body, your emotions, your mind and your soul and attend to what it is you really need and desire.

    Silence Your Inner Critic

    In order to care for ourselves we must first recognise and banish the inner critic.  That inner ‘mean girl’, ‘critic’, ‘judge’, ‘saboteur’ or whatever you call it, (I call mine ‘The Committee’) serves us at certain times in our life.  But at others it undermines our dreams.

    This is that voice that always casts doubt on your inspiration, your actions or even just you.

    There are times in our life we really need that inner voice.  It is the voice of caution that pops up to keep us safe.  But it is also the voice that keeps us small, limited, and unfulfilled.

    In the interests of self-care it is at these times that you need to reclaim the control to direct your own life.  When you don’t do this your inner voice will keep you restricted with old stories and belief systems that don’t support your personal growth.

    The second part of the process is to attend to your needs.  A lot of people think this is about pampering but it is much more.  While pampering can be a part of self-care it’s not the crux.  At its centre self care is about tuning in to your body, emotions, mind and spirit and addressing what it is you need on all these levels.

    It can be hard to know how to begin the process of self care.  Here are five suggestions.

    Guide To Self Care

    1. Shut Down Your Inner Mean Voice

    I began the process of self-care by dealing with the voice of my ‘Inner Committee’.  The very first step was to recognise it when it very first showed up and stop it dead.  I used strong language first and then spoke back to it.  I reminded it that I was the driver on our life journey; that it was welcome to come along for the ride, but I was in charge.

    Continue reading this article…

    “When perfectionism is driving us, shame is riding shotgun and fear is that annoying backseat driver.”                           ~  Brene Brown

    Disclaimer
    All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation with your health care provider.  Do not use this article to diagnose a health condition.  Speak to your doctor if you think your condition may be serious or before discontinuing any prescribed medication.  Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.