For most of us, the concept of self care gets lost among our priorities, i.e., kids, spouse, work, home, the never ending to do list. Not to mention, the societal pressures to work hard, push yourself and stay ahead of the competition. It becomes more and more difficult to create time for ourselves and not feel guilty about it. HOWEVER, the costs associated with pushing self care to the bottom of the list are profound…emotionally, mentally and physically.
So where to start?
The core of self care is ultimately about honoring your body’s natural wisdom and cycles. It is about taking care of yourself at a deep level, which means forcing yourself to slow down and releasing the myth of more.
Reframe who is in charge of your life
Let go of the idea that anyone knows your body better than you do.
Get in touch with your body
Commit to a weekly yoga class or get out and walk by yourself. Lie down, stretch and gradually relax each part of your body. Get a massage once a month, take a bath…whatever it takes to allow yourself to be conscious of and in your body.
Schedule in self care
As with any business meeting, school event, soccer practice, or social event, put self care on your calendar as non-negotiable time.
Let go of being perfect
Your house doesn’t need to be perfectly clean, you don’t need to make gourmet meals from scratch, your desk doesn’t need to be perfectly organized. Give yourself some breathing room for margin and mistakes.
Take time to reflect
Take 15-30 minutes each day to reflect on what is happening in your life – journal, meditate, and reflect on how you are feeling at that moment.
Learn to say “no”
If we don’t learn to say “no”, we can easily get overwhelmed and waste a lot of time on things that are not that important to our lives.
Be gentle with yourself. Taking care of yourself is a process and change in mindset. It has taken me years to re-program the condition response I have to always put everyone else first. But I am here to say, slow down, work smart, honor yourself and don’t worry about what others may or may not be doing.
In Health,
Sharon Hwang, Owner of The Wellness Center
