How to Self-Care at home?

Welcome my beautiful, strong and sexy Self-Care Goddess to my very first blog post, and I wanted to start with the concept of SELF-CARE! In this post I will be explaining what it is, why it’s important, and how to do it at home for optimal mental, emotional and physical health, vitality and longevity.

What is Self-Care and Why Does it Matter?

Self-care is any deliberate activity that we engage in to look after our mental, emotional, and physical health.  As busy, often overwhelmed women, we tend to neglect these activities and often regard them as selfish acts.  Selfish acts taking us away from our primary duties of looking after our children, partner, job and the household.  We so easily forget that we cannot pour from an empty cup, and just like the cabin crew would demonstrate on a flight, you are required to put on your oxygen mask first and then tend to others.

This is why I do, what I do and I changed my career trajectory because I’m on a mission to empower women to embrace self-care habits so that they can become their own health hero and be the woman they were born to be – beautiful, strong and sexy.

Because ladies, self-care is not selfish – it’s self-love!

Self-care is not a new activity, as a matter of fact our ancestors used to manage their own health, and in many communities this is still the case.  On the contrary, most developed countries have abdicated this primary responsibility to the medical profession and pharmaceutical industry.  The amazing scientific, medical discoveries and technological advancements of the 19^th and 20^th century, created the trusted patient-doctor relationship we hold so dear to this day. I’m not saying that this is a wrong system of thinking, however I do believe that the system is broken.

In fact, I do believe that there is a time and place for conventional medicine, however, I don’t like the fact that we have become so disconnected with our bodies, that we can no longer self-diagnose and self-medicate and rely so heavily on the specialists. Again, I’m not emphasizing that there is not a need for medical professionals or experts, what I’m emphasizing is that we need to work together and not discredit the innate intelligence of our bodies.

So why does Self-Care matter? 

Lifestyle diseases such as heart attack and stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and linked risk factors such as obesity. According to research cited on the International Self-Care Foundation website, the threats of lifestyle diseases are massive, in fact lifestyle is about 63{28f0d3090b57ab7af33e3fd0c29c02fb5b9d7d0bb5b410556678e70c51339bb2} among the factors affecting one’s longevity and wellbeing, and much higher in developed countries. 

Would you believe me if I told you that they are all preventable, because they are, for the most part.

There are many elements in lifestyle disease prevention but at its core is the need for individuals to change their self-care and lifestyle habits. This is why it matters, I believe that healthy self-care habits are a vital foundation for our health.

There is a plethora of concrete evidence that the benefits of lifestyle self-care programmes are life-long and important to a lifestyle pursuit of health.

5 Simple Ways to Kick-Start Your Self-Care Journey!

Here are some simple, easy, and fun suggestions to prioritize time for yourself and engage in daily self-care habits. 

1. Have a Morning Wellness Routine

• 10mins Mindful Meditation to help you bring awareness to your thoughts and practice self-compassion.
• Choose a daily affirmation to set your intentions for the day and cultivate positive self-talk patterns.
• Balanced Breathing exercise such as Alternate Nostril Breathing to balance left and right brain hemispheres for 3mins.
• Release your hip muscles and tension across the pelvic floor with Bound Angle (Baddha Konasana) Yoga Pose for 3mins.
• Make an energizing morning elixir and drink it while walking in nature or around the block for 10mins.

2. Nourish Yourself with Healthy Food

• Drink warm lemon water first thing in the morning to help kick start your digestion.
• Eat whole foods, from farm-to-table as much as possible.
• Avoid processed foods, especially processed fats and meats.
• Buy organic whenever possible because you are at you eat, but also what you eat ate. I know organic can get expensive so check out the EWG’s list of foods that must be organic because they are so heavily sprayed and the ones that you can go conventional to help you budget your food finances.
• Reap the numerous benefits of intermitted fasting by pushing your breakfast back 1 hour.

3. Nourish Your Mind

• Read a non-fiction book and/or a fiction book.
• Listen to a self-development podcast.
• Watch an inspiring documentary. 
• Avoid endless scrolling on social media by removing the apps from your phone and have it only on one device like your iPad or laptop. Ok, maybe choose to remove the app that you’re on it the most. 
• Learn a new physical skill like knitting or practice a new yoga posture.

4. Create Something That Brings You Pleasure

• Bake your favourite dessert and/or make your favourite meal.
• Draw/Paint/Colour even if it’s with your kids.
• Learn how to DIY your favourite personal care product (soap, body butter, etc.)
• Dance to your favourite tunes like no one’s watching.
• Make time for love making, even if it means hiding from your children.

5. Have an Evening Wellness Routine  

• Avoid eating food but you can have a nightly sleep elixir 3 hours before bed.
• Take a warm water epson and lavender (or your favourite relaxing essential oils) bath or foot soak to release the day’s ups & downs.
• Oil your feet with your favourite oil & essential oil mixture before bed.
• Get ready for bed with this passive and restful inverted position, Legs Up The Wall (Viparita Karani) Yoga Pose for 5mins in bed.
• Write in your Gratitude Journal for a mental download of the day’s events, worries, or next day’s to-do-list.

Although we all understand the importance of this simple concept of self-care, I appreciate that it’s a struggle for everyone, including myself, to integrate it into our day-to-day lives.

Choose 1 Thing & Commit for 21-Days

So let’s begin small, perhaps choosing 1-thing from the list provided above. Let’s give ourselves a 21 day commitment window towards achieving it, perhaps get an accountability partner to join in – a friend or family member to do it with you and hold each other accountable. 

Also, keep in mind that it takes about 66 days to form a habit, so be patient and stick with it and you will adapt. 

Let’s commit and use these simple preventative tools, accessible to us all, to help us take personal responsibility for our own mental, emotional and physical health and happiness.

This can be overwhelming, but I’m here for you if you need further assistance. I’m on a mission to raise awareness about valuable self-care habits that promote life-long health and wellbeing. If you have any questions or want to dive deeper into your health, simply Schedule your Introduction Call I’m here to help you embrace self-care and feel like your happier and sexier self again. 

Ps. Check out the Savoia Self-Care Morning Routine, for more helpful suggestions to add to your morning wellness routine.

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References:

Why is Self-Care essential today? (2016, November 07). Retrieved January 05, 2021, from https://isfglobal.org/what-is-self-care/why-is-self-care-essential-today/