Self-care is a journey
As a soul with a body and a CEO who is constantly evolving, I sometimes find that I am faced with juggling many demands and tasks. There is always something to do, or a decision to make, a blog post to write, or an opportunity to meet some new people.
Value self-care above all else
For me, I value my self-care before my work or my relationships with others. In fact, I value it so much that I have committed to a daily practice (sadhana) that I do before I connect with the outside world (i.e before I turn on my phone and check for messages and emails).
Because if I don’t do it first thing and instead I start giving my energy to external tasks then I can find it very difficult to create the space for self-care anywhere in the day, as there is always a pull to something or someone else that requires my attention.
Daily practice
By doing your daily practice you connect with yourself, you will feel more grounded, have greater self-awareness, improved mental clarity to make decisions and perform tasks, and greater confidence and vitality.
Write a list
It’s a really good idea to write a list of the things that you can do to take care of your own emotional, physical and mental needs. From there you can design one routine/practice that you might stick to for a week or maybe a month and then you can design another practice, or you can combine 2 or 3 together like I do. You can have a lot of fun creating your self-care practice.
Be flexible
I would encourage you to allow for flexibility with your routine/practice. Sometimes stuff happens and we need to adjust to the needs of the moment. If you know that you have an early morning meeting and you won’t be able to do what you had planned to do before work, then you can put in place a contingency plan. If for example you miss your morning meditation and you are catching public transport throughout the day, then you can use that time on the bus/train to do your meditation.
Take it a day at a time
The key is to commit to doing at least one act of self-care every day. The benefits are huge and once you get started I guarantee you will be allowing more time to do your self-care practices.
Here is a list of my self-care practices:-
- Yoga
- Pranayama
- Meditation
- Cooking nourishing food
- Looking for opportunities for incidental exercise throughout the day
- Being in nature
- Taking time away from my phone and computer
- Listening to music that touches my soul
- Being aware of the types of information that I read and watch on social media, Netflix, etc
- Going for a brisk walk
- Giving myself a hug
- Massaging my neck and shoulders
- Giving thanks every day for all my blessings
- Making time to connect with the people that I love
If you have any questions feel free to shout out….
Love Donna xoxo