5 Offbeat Self-Care Practices

Although self-care is a pretty simple concept in theory, so many of us struggle with following through with it on a regular basis. Maybe we think there’s no time. Maybe we worry about being selfish.

​I’m here today to assure you that self-care can not only be quick and cumulative, but it’s as far from selfish as you can get. In fact, caring for your own self is one of the kindest, most thoughtful things you can do for the people who love and count on you.

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Self-care can mean a lot of different things, and it can show up in our lives a ton of different ways. There are even various levels of commitment to self-care, from hourly decisions like drinking water or stretching our muscles, to daily, weekly, or even yearly decisions like where to take a Girls’ Trip with your sister or when to schedule your annual check-up.  

I think sometimes self-care gets hastily lumped into the “physical indulgence” category of thought -  when used as a buzzword, the concept of self-care can be accompanied by images of manicures, pedicures, facials, and massages, and yes - that’s part of it, to be sure.

But.

Self-care is also SO MUCH MORE.

​We all know this, right?

Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.

Strong, consistent self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety. It’s also key to a good relationship with ourselves and others.

I guess you could say I’ve been using my life as a focus study on the art of self-care. While there is plenty of physical pampering going on, I'm also actively paying attention to what's best for myself in distinctly other ways, too.

Because the way I see it, self-care also includes setting boundaries, and speaking your mind, and sharing your love, and challenging authority, and letting your creativity flow, and honoring the mark you were meant to leave on this earth.

It’s activating your adrenaline every once in a while to remind yourself you’re alive, and having control of your finances, and advocating for your health, and trusting your intuition, and taking a few deep breaths first so you can respond instead of react. It’s expanding your mind by reading more, and letting certain calls go to voicemail, and taking a mental health day to clean your entire house until it sparkles.

Self-care is taking the promotion; self-care is quitting the job. Self-care is opening your heart; self-care is walking away from what’s no longer serving you. Self-care is understanding that you do not need to justify your particular style of self-care to anyone else.

​Self-care is saying yes, and self-care is saying no.

So far, I have to say I’m super into it. You’ll find me over here standing firmly in my power pose, smack dab in the center of my boundaries, head high and shoulders back with a BIG smile, holding steady my firehose of self-love that is raining down all *kinds* of self-care all *over* my calendar.

It feels good to practice what you preach.

Essentially, this endeavor has reminded me how self-care is simply the active manifestation of self-love, and it can be nurtured in countless ways.

Today, I have 5 offbeat self-care ideas for you to consider practicing.

1. Declare your love. Set a timer for one minute, stand in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eye, and (in your mind or out loud) say, “I love you,” to yourself until the timer ends. It may feel uncomfortable at first, or like a fake-it-till-you-make-it kind of thing, but you can do *anything* for one minute.  
2. Ground thyself. Get your bare feet in the nearest patch of grass and take 10 deep breaths. Better yet, lie down snow-angel style and do the same. (No grass nearby? Try hugging a tree instead.)
3. Sit or stand up straight. The way we hold our body affects the way we feel, so assume a posture of confidence and badassery…and it follows that you will feel more like a confident badass.
4. Curate with a heavy hand. Check in with any/all social media platforms you participate in to assure that everyone you follow and/or are watching makes you feel good about yourself and your life. Ditch the ones that don’t.  
5. Get salty. As the Izak Dinesen quote goes, “The cure for anything is salt water. Sweat, tears, or the sea.” Decide whether a workout, a good cry, or a visit to the shore is most feasible, and let ‘er rip!

​I encourage you to shine this #selfcarespotlight on your life, too, because you're worth all the loving care in the world!

Take one big, deep commitment breath, and start thinking of ways to drench yourself in different levels of self-care starting now.

What’s one idea - something I listed above, or something else entirely - that you can commit to within the next hour?

What can you commit to later today, tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that?

I'm interested in knowing if you're interested in sharing! xo