5 ways to practice self-care that you may not have thought about

June 29, 2021

Along with hair care, self-care is one of my absolute favourite topics to talk about. I am the BIGGEST advocate for taking care of yourself and of your body! I truly believe that living a healthy and balanced lifestyle has a lot to do with considering your own needs and how you can take care of YOU first.

HOWEVER, there are certainly many misconceptions surrounding the word “self-care” and what it actually means.

Often times, this term is associated with taking a bubble bath or doing a face mask, but that’s not all that self-care can be. There is no set image of what self-care looks like.

Self-care literally means taking care of yourself and that looks so different for everyone.

So, chances are, without taking a bubble bath or doing a face mask, you’re still practicing self-care in your daily life (yay!). 

Here are 5 ways to practice self-care that you may not have thought of:

1.   Fuel your body with good food

 This doesn’t only mean food that is considered healthy for us. This also includes finding foods that work for our body! Remember, just because something is labelled as healthy, doesn’t mean it has to work for everyone. For example, avocados are an amazing fruit (yes, it’s a fruit! Weird, I know) but I have an intolerance to them (sad face). Often times, we also have sensitives to certain foods or food groups and addressing/noticing those sensitives can help your body and digestive system thrive.

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2.   Allow your body to have enough sleep

This is something that we all know and have heard of before, but most of us take this for granted! Sleep is very important for so many reasons and one of the best ways that we can care for ourselves is to allow our body the rest that it requires.

We spend so many hours of our lives sleeping, but why do you think that is? Because sleep is just that important!!

Not only does our body recharge when we are sleeping, sleep is also an important component to a healthy immune system, which we all know is also very important ;)

Okay enough about the importance of sleep, let’s move on!

3.   Have a hobby

Specifically, a hobby that you can enjoy doing by yourself (or with others) that has nothing to do with your job or your regular routine. This helps you disconnect from your everyday routine. Having a hobby that brings your joy and fulfillment not only allows you to express your creative side, it also allows your body to naturally de-stress.

Breaking the constant cycle of a routine is also a very important part of practicing self-care. Once we fall into doing the same actions/tasks over and over, we begin to feel bored with life, unmotivated and, ultimately, unhappy.

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4.   Stimulate your brain

As mentioned in the point above, in our day-to-day lives, we follow a routine which we can often do on autopilot. When we function on autopilot, our brains often aren’t stimulated. Challenging your brain regularly helps to promote cognitive function and keeps you more engaged in your daily life. Although we may not be upset or sad, we slowly become bored with life as there is little excitement in our daily routines.  

Stimulating your brain does not mean that you have to make major changes in your life – you’d be surprised at how small changes can make a huge difference! For example:

-      Take a new route to work

-      Tryout new exercises when you’re working out

-      Cook a new meal from scratch without a recipe and try to figure it out on your own

-      Puzzles/sudoku/problem solving brain games

-      DIY projects or fixing things on your own rather than hiring someone to do it

-      Learn that skill that you’ve always wanted to learn

All it takes is to get your brain thinking in a new way!

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5.   Open new doors for yourself

Have an open mind.

Say yes to adventures.

Say yes to trying new things.

Push yourself.

Step outside of your comfort zone.

Experience new things.

Open your eyes.

And lastly…

Open new doors for yourself because you deserve the most out of life!

Self-care doesn’t have to be complicated and it is so much more than a bubble bath. Don’t get me wrong, self-care CAN be a bubble bath/face mask/night out, but we can all find a way to practice self-care that works for our individual lives.

Know yourself, know your body & until next time!

Mags

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