Self-Care
The second sacred key to creating your beloved work in this world is self-care.
Self-care is the sacred art of nourishing yourself. When I use the term self-care, some people automatically think of lavish body treatments, pedicures, manicures, massages, etc. Self-care is not just health and beauty treatments. It is so much more than this. It is nurturing yourself from the inside out. It is about taking care of you in all the small and big ways before you get overwhelmed or stressed out; to keep these things from happening and to live in a alignment with your truth, your heart, your soul.
Self-care starts with self-talk, self-love and self-confidence.
Self-care is about honoring the vessels which you are – your physical body, your mental thoughts, your emotional well-being and your connection to Spirit, the Universe, God or the Divine Source.
Self-care looks different for every person because we are all unique, our situations are unique and our desires are unique.
There is no one-size-fits-all in self-care. You creatively co-create a daily practice that works for you. It’s very challenging for me as a mother and caregiver to find uninterrupted periods of quiet time in the morning. I don’t have the luxury of long periods of time for meditation or yoga to start my day like I once had. I have tried waking up early before the kids to give myself quality time to stretch, meditate and journal, however my children seem to always sense when I am awake and I find them clinging to me as sit in reflection or do downward dog. This strategy does work extremely well for others, so please do give it a whirl.
What I have found that works the best for me and many of my clients is creating self-care rituals throughout the day that require shorter periods of time – anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. These smaller chunks of time are more manageable and inject your day with consistent doses of connection, joy and self-love. This has been a true game-changer for me over the years and some of the self-care practices myself, clients and friends do we easily fit in the first few moments in the morning before even getting out of bed.
Many people ask me how I balance it all – being a mom to two young children, caring for my father in our home, settling everyone into a new life, new schools, new surroundings and creating projects and a business I love. My weapon (or sacred key) is self-care. Daily, simple self-care rituals have empowered and provided me with inspiration, connection and joy.
Self-care can include, but is not limited to:
- Drinking plenty of water
- Eating nourishing foods
- Moving your body (stretching, dance, yoga, jogging, hiking, walking, etc.)
- Time in nature
- A mindfulness practice
- Connecting with friends or loved ones
- Art/Crafts/Working with your hands
- Music
- Dance parties
- Bubble baths
- Going to bed early or when your body is tired
- Journaling
- Reading
- Meditation
- Morning rituals
- Daily affirmations and/or mantras
- Bodywork such as massage, acupuncture, etc.
As the leader in your own life and movement, it is your job to nourish and replenish yourself on a daily basis through the ritual of self-care. This will bring you and your work peace, joy, comfort, productivity and the ability to listen, hear and follow your soul’s calling and intuition.
You deserve to nurture yourself from the inside out.
You deserve to love every piece of yourself – the darkness, the shadow, the light and the potential.
You can only lead your own beloved movement when you can claim your own power.
There is a much deeper level to self-care that we will explore further in The Sacred Cocoon: A 5-Month Journey to Create and Launch Your Beloved Work along with setting up your personalized and unique self-care plan and rituals.
Self-care is a sacred tool for abundance, manifestation and inner mastery which allows you to stand in your own power and potential. This is why it is one sacred key to creating your own beloved work. For you cannot show up fully in your life and create the work that you desire if you are not taking good care of yourself and leading from a place of connection, joy, delight and trust. Self-care opens the channel for you to lead and create from this soulful place.