Natural Strategies for a Healthier Life
As a busy woman with probably many responsibilities, often pulling you in opposite directions I’m sure, you may wonder when you’d ever get time for ‘self-care’. And isn’t it just another influencer phrase you see on IG or in magazines?
And I used to feel like that myself, despite understanding the importance of looking after myself, I often felt it was just another thing ‘to do’.
But I got to the stage where I had to make some changes, because no-one can look after anyone or anything else without first looking after themselves.
Self-care is one of the most powerful ways to improve our wellbeing.
Today, I’m going to share how I integrated self-care into my life, slowly but surely, and made ‘space’ to look after myself. When I took care of ‘me’, I became stronger and more resilient to the demands of life and after the last few years, I was glad I’d started to integrate self-care into my life on a daily basis.
Why Self Care Matters – The Impact of Ignoring Chronic Stress
High levels of cortisol over a prolonged period can have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing, regardless of our age or gender. When we get stuck in fight, flight or freeze mode, it puts so much stress on our bodies. By the time we reach our 40’s and beyond, we’ve probably got a shed full of unprocessed trauma which gets stored in the body and over time drags us down. We often think it’s just part of aging, that we’re busy, or not being able to cope as well as we did, but it could be the cumulative effect of stress.
Then of course there’s the menopause which creeps up on us slowly and before we realise, we’re struggling with low mood, tiredness, sleep issues, lack of energy and more.
I had an early surgical menopause, which I can tell you was one big shock to the system, but I have friends who experienced the slow decline of the perimenopause, and because they were soldiering on as if they were still in their 20’s and 30’s hadn’t realised how their body was struggling.
However, you get there, if you ignore chronic stress, sooner or later there will be a price to pay in feeling worn out, at a low ebb or worse, facing a scary health issue.
Self-Care as a Foundation for Wellbeing
What if you could use self-care to tune in and understand yourself and your body better?
Being consistent and investing in self-care can support your long-term wellbeing and potentially reduce cortisol, support your physical and mental wellbeing, improve sleep and increase your energy levels.
Self-care is not a way of simply self-soothing. The goal here is to make space to improve your wellbeing by understanding what you need and making some lifestyle changes for both your current and future wellbeing.
Incorporating nutrient dense foods and regular movement, whether that be walking, gardening, Pilates etc. is investing in your future. Learning how to manage your stress levels, is investing in your future. Setting yourself up for good quality sleep, is investing in your future. Taking time for yourself, is investing in your future. You get the drift.
Barriers to Creating Time for Self-Care
Even though we know the benefits, we still seem to find it hard to prioritise time to invest in ourselves. There’s always something else to do like taking the dog out, the weekly trip to the supermarket, managing a busy work life, never-ending laundry. You know how it is.
And this is when self-care begins to feel like another item on the ‘to-do’ list. I totally understand this, I’ve been there myself.
The way I overcame that was to change my mind set about self-care. I realised that self-care needed to become a way of life for me, because I couldn’t continue to sustain the full-on, not-stopping-to-take-a-break habit I’d fallen into.
Slowly, by taking care of myself, I became stronger and more resilient to the demands of everyday life.
You don’t need permission to take care of yourself, you need to decide to start and work out where you can fit it into your schedule.
How to Start Making Self-Care a Priority
I decided to start small and make myself a priority for a minimum of10 minutes a day.
For me, this started with EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique (otherwise known as Tapping) and I used an app that tracked my daily progress to keep me interested and consistent.
Every night as I get ready for bed I incorporate a tapping meditation into my routine, this helps me to let go of the stress of the day and it has really helped me to get better sleep. I incorporate my favourite relaxing essential oil for added benefits.
Next, I increased the use of essential oils into my daily routine. I already used them in my skincare and took the supplements but taking a few seconds, several times a day, to stop, breathe, and inhale an uplifting or calming aroma really helped me to re-set.
I always take the time to walk our beautiful dog, Bruno. Often, it’s in the middle of the day to get some sunlight and to stretch my legs, and to get away from my laptop for an hour. And of course, I put aside some time to play with him, because he brings me joy. And we all need to increase joy in our lives! 🐶
These are just a few of the things that I have incorporated into my daily routine to look after myself. I feel more in tune with my emotions, and my body and although I’ve still a way to go, I know I have the basis of a good self-care practise.
How to Start Your Own Self-Care Routine
I believe the best approach is to start where you are. Don’t judge yourself, or set unrealistic expectations, just pick something that resonates with you and give it a go.
Next, consider what would be the best time of day to incorporate a little something to nurture yourself.
Here are a few things you could do to take baby steps:
- Drink a cup of warm water with a slice of lemon – stop for one minute to just enjoy the refreshing taste
- Journal for a few minutes a day, how has your day gone, what have you learned, what would you do differently, what are you grateful for
- Download a short relaxing meditation and do it consistently every day
- Intentionally stop what you are doing and take a few relaxing breaths (I use an essential oil, put a drop in my palm, cup my hands and breath in slowly for a minute or two)
- Be strong and say no to something you really don’t want to do, or you know will drain your energy
- Make a cup of your favourite beverage (I love green Earl Grey tea for this) sit and enjoy it quietly for a few moments – I know when you have or are looking after young children, this may only be a few seconds but savour the time you have. Enjoy the taste and the smell of your drink
- Instead of taking things for granted, be grateful for running water, a bed to sleep in, a roof over your head. Think about the people and things in your life you would miss if they weren’t there and be grateful for them
- Use a hand cream or cuticle conditioner and massage into your hands and nails. Notice the sensation and how it soothes the hands. We use our hands all the time and we don’t give them enough care and attention but often take them for granted. (Having recently broken my wrist, I know this from experience. When you can’t use your hands, you really notice how much you need them!)
- Sit and notice your body for a few minutes, how does it feel, are there any aches and pains you are ignoring, send it some love and appreciation
- Stand outside, in the greenery if you can, or even better take a walk under some trees. Even if only for a few minutes this will help you greatly
When you take small consistent actions, you start to realise how much you need to do things to nurture yourself. The more you do, the more you want to do, the more you prioritise yourself.
When I say prioritise yourself, I don’t mean, forget everybody else or your responsibilities, rather that you do some things to support yourself first, so you have more time, ‘space’ and energy to give to loved ones and the other things in your life that you have to do.
Shifting Your Mindset to Make Self-Care a Consistent Habit
Once you’ve started with some smaller ‘gifts’ of time for yourself, start to look at more substantial areas of your life that would improve your wellbeing.
When you think about increasing the amount of self-care time in your daily schedule, what are you telling yourself? Do you think you don’t have time? Think that other things are more important?
Give yourself 5 minutes to sit with the thoughts that come up and ask yourself if those things are true? In many cases we do have the time we need, but we are perhaps not using it to support ourselves in the best way. Can you stop the scroll for half an hour and do something that will give you a greater return on investment?
Invest in your Wellbeing - “Health is the greatest of human blessings”, Hippocrates
Your future-self will truly thank you for investing in your wellbeing. Don’t put off prioritising yourself until your health is compromised – find a way to make some changes today.
What do you need to improve that will support better wellbeing -
- Are you sleeping well? Do you need to establish better sleep hygiene?
- Do you need to improve your nutrition? This is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself – homemade, nutrient dense foods
- Do you need to move more? What would you enjoy doing that gets you moving? Is there always something you wanted to try but you keep putting it off. If so, work out how you can fit it in and do it. You deserve it.
These are just a few ideas but I’m sure you can think of areas of your life where you could invest some love and time into them.
If any of the above inspires you, or if you think of areas of your own life that would benefit from your investment, make a list of those things that are important to your wellbeing. It can be one or two things to start with but make those things non-negotiable and ‘create’ time for them. Remember you and your desires are important to your wellbeing.
The better you feel, the higher your vibration, the better those around you will feel. Win-win 😊
What to do next
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Whatever you decide to do, sending you big blessings on your wellness journey,
Rebecca