From an early age we’re taught to be kind to others, to treat others nicely and to take care of our loved ones but we’re not taught how to show love and respect to ourselves.
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The Importance of Self-care
Before I started doing yoga I was constantly at war with my body. I used to rush throughout my day so I was disconnected from my body. I became so demanding of myself to do so many things. I would push myself to accomplish more, be more successful, do my best, possess more, fulfil social expectations with disregard for my physical needs.
How do you treat your body, how do you talk about your body, how do you engage with your body?
Our body isn’t a war machine. We need to approach our bodies with tenderness and love. We like being treated nicely so do our body.
Self-care is an essential tool for managing physical and emotional energy. It helps you take your power back so that you can be in service to the world. Somehow we never have the time for and keep sabotaging it. Remember that the most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.
Now, take a look at your life , your current self-care routine. First, do you have one? Does it support your day or you’re just reacting to what is thrown at you. You can have different experience with consistent self-care routine. Your self-care routine should support your mental and physical wellbeing.
Our self-care reveal a lot about our mind, our energy, our work… By creating a self-care routine you’re establishing an unconditional friendship with yourself.
The 6 Pillars of Self-care
I’m sharing with you 6 pillars of self-care routine that will help you optimize your life.
Movement
We sit for lunch, dinner , in a car or bus, on a couch to watch TV… we spend a lot of time sitting. I don’t want you to feel bad about sitting. I want you to become aware of the time you spending sitting versus moving.
Can you integrate some movements into your daily life?
Change working position if possible. You can stand while working or if you’re working from home, take a cushion and sit on the floor.
You can integrate movement breaks – get up walk, do some squats, standing stretches…
Or join an online challenge it’s fun thing to do to try something new, meet other people, become part of a like-minded community.
I know you don’t have time to exercise. But the consistent exercise routine will bring more balance into your life. Make that your priority and schedule everything around it. Make it part of your day and your focal point.
Diet
“People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.”
This quote describes my mindset about diet.
Our body needs nutrient diversity, fibres, quality proteins and water.
It’s important to understand calorie and nutrient density. When you eat certain foods nutrients and fibre will come to your gut. Consuming diet rich in fibres and nutrients sends signal to your brain to stop eating. You won’t overeat. The foods with the highest nutrient density are also the foods with lowest calorie density. Fibre rich foods are lower in calories and keep you fuller at the same time.
If you eat foods that are high in saturated fat, sugar and salt you’ll have higher chances of overeating.Fibre activates satiety hormones which allows you to stop eating at the right time.
Try to incorporate foods different in colours as much as possible. Eat all colours no exception. Find some fruit or veggie you like from each color. Reduce or eliminate milk consumption and fibre up. High-fibre foods are whole grains, legumes, broccoli, fruits… Fibres are important for our skin health, digestive heathy and heart heath. So eat your rainbow – where is my green, yellow, purple…and drink water.
Eating lower on the food chain no matter what you believe is going to result in less inflammation which is beneficial for our overall health.
Sleep
Do you have a bedtime ritual and consistent hour of sleep? Do you scroll through social media just before the bed or push yourself to work until late?
Most of us are creating a sleep debt which results in a mental fog, weight gain, anxiety and so on. Here are some tips to optimize your sleep.
♦ Put your phone on airplane mode 2h before your bedtime.
♦ The optimal room temperature for sleep is 19°C (66°F)
♦ Make sure you don’t eat or drink at least 2h before bed. Minimize food and drinks so you’re not waking up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet.
♦ You don’t need to be tired to sleep, you go to sleep when you decide to. Decide on a time to disconnect, ideally 10 pm. Consistency is the key. You need to have a consistent bedtime. Make a firm decision to go to bed at this time. Train your mind.
♦ Sleep in a dark room. Turn off any light in your room otherwise your mind won’t rest.
♦ You can do five minutes of belly breathing followed by another five minutes of meditation. If you had a hard day, journal to reflect on your day and release emotions.
♦ Reading a book is another great natural sleeping pill.
Create your perfect bedtime ritual.
Connection
We’re hyperconnected nowadays that we’re so disconnected from each other. We spend so much time on social media, scrolling through reels, tiktok, snapchat… All these distractions greatly impact our mental heath.
I like to ask myself a simple question- “What are you polluting your brain with?” Can you learn something from it or just entertain yourself? Is the content informative, educational, inspirational, funny…
We’re social animals, we depend on each other. Put your loved ones first and create the right tribe that will give you a sense of belonging; social circles that will support healthy behaviours.
Think about how you’re connecting to people around you on a daily basis. Be present during conversations. Give your family, friends, partners your full presence and attention. Be 100% with your loved ones, focused and engaged. Listen attentively before you respond to them. Send a voice message to people that matter to you to let them know you’re thinking about them or meet them if you can to talk about everything and nothing.
Take time to disconnect from your tech devices. Your phone on the table while having lunch with your family pulls you away from real conversation. It’s such an amazing social ritual where we engage with others. Don’t become a slave to technology.
The essence of life is to communicate LOVE!
Nature
We spend so much time between walls – at work, in house, in a car so we loose connection with our source. Nature.
Schedule your time with nature. Bring nature into your life as much as possible. Buy a plant, an aromatic herb for your home or office. Watch sunrise or sunset once a week. Walk barefoot in a garden, by the beach , in the forest. Let those simple actions become your rituals. They will allow you to connect to the earth. We live in a head driven society and environment, our stress levels are pretty hight. Make a shift from doing more to being more. Instead going to the mall, go to nature. Instead of spending hours on online shopping, go pick chestnuts in the forest. Try to use all your senses to connect to the nature, to that present moment. Listen, observe, savour living things happening around you.
I have an appointment with nature every day. Taking a daily walk makes me feel free, alive, creative, present.
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
Breath
Before you react to any situation take a deep breath. There is a space between the situation and your reaction to it. That space holds the power of choice. That space is the breath. It allows you to take a step back from what’s happening around you and respond to the situation rather than react to it. Sometimes it’s really hard not to react to certain circumstances but what matters even more is how long you stay in it. How long you’re chewing on stress. If you stay too long, it becomes chronic.
Pause. Breathe. Think. Act. Before you react take 3 deep breaths to allow you to get to the space.
Box breathing is a powerful stress reliever. It’s also called four-square breathing. I like the ratio 5:5:5:5. Inhale for 5 seconds, Hold for 5 seconds, Exhale for 5 seconds and Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat!
We have control over what we eat, how we sleep, how we breath, how we move. Let’s focus on what we can control.
Those 6 pillars will allow you to show up more present, balanced, grounded in this hectic world.
Choose one pillar that needs more of your attention. Take a long good valuation and see how to make shifts, little steps. You’re looking for small shifts. What can you do right now to make it better? What’s the most loving thing you can do for yourself today?
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