Self care has been a buzz word floating around in the world of wellness for quite some time now. With good reason too! After all, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Self care, or as I like to coin it ‘self-support’, isn’t just about getting a monthly pedi or medi (although who doesn’t love that?!).
Self support digs deeper than the physical (albeit important) self care methods like;
- Massage
- Deep belly breathing
- Body brushing and cleansing practices
- Eating nutritional and nourishing foods
- Exercise like yoga, F45 or, whatever your movement jam
No, at a deeper level, self support is being pro-active in prioritising mental, emotional and spiritual health too. It is a way of life that honours you. The real, raw and, authentic YOU. And, by doing so, honours others around you.
Here are 6 self support strategies that run deeper than getting a pedicure.
Healthy habits that foster self support include:
- Creating healthy boundaries – at times, saying no to others is essential in order to say yes to yourself.
- Stopping being the people pleaser – placing others needs above our own can come with negative consequences like burn out! Prioritising our own needs is essential.
- Cultivating a positive mindset – recognising negative thought patterns as they arise, understanding what is causing them and, actively create new patterns (easier said than done, at times!!).
- Adopting a spiritual practice – creating space to align and connect with your individual sense of peace.
- Moving into mindfulness – tuning into what we are sensing in any moment by observing thoughts, feelings and actions. Remunerating about the past or, obsessing about the future are habits that can derail mindfulness.
- Listening and activating our inner guidance (that is; our intuition) in every moment – what is right for YOU in this moment? For example; 5 minutes in the sunshine? Eating the donut guilt free? Choosing to move (even when you don’t feel like it?)
