I talk a lot on social media about self care as a way to support your mental and physical wellbeing, but so often I realise that many people don't have a clear understand about what self care is, how it should feel or what it might look like in their own lives. This is completely understandable given that in recent year so much marketing and advertising campaigns have begun to use self care as a buzzword to promote products and services to us.
Yes, sometimes self care is bubble baths and face mask, but only if that's what feels good to you in that moment.
A meaningful self care practice is about learning to tune into our own needs; it's checking in with your mind, body and emotions regularly, recognising what needs your attention and responding to that with supportive, meaningful action.
If you're still unsure about what self care should look and feel like for you, here are five key words to help you begin to define your self care practice.
space
how do you make space for yourself and your needs in your own life? Do you like your feelings take up space? Do you create enough space for your own needs each day, week and month?
rest
when was the last time that you let yourself rest? When did you last take a real break? How could you carve out some more time for rest today?
heal
have you acknowledged your own need to heal from recent events? How could you start to make time for emotional healing?
listen
your body and mind are always communicating with you, listen. What do you really need right now? How will you respond to those needs?
connect
do you need to disconnect or reconnect today?
How can you better nurture your connection to your
sense of self and the world around you?