Cindie Chavez – ©2019
Self-care is a somewhat vague term that gets recommended by life coaches and therapists and personal growth enthusiasts, and often is understood to mean massages, manicures, pedicures and the like. And while I have no issue with these things, they more accurately fall into the category of pampering. And I’m a big fan of pampering – it certainly can and should be included in a self-care regimen, however pampering alone does not a self-care regimen make.
If you hold to the hermetic, and magical, principle of “As above, so below. As within, so without.” – then self-care isn’t really an option if you want your body and mind to be healthy, your life to run smoothly, and your experiences to be magical and enjoyable. Because the Universe seems to have a predilection for reflecting our level of self-love and self-care right back at us by way of experiences and events that show up in our lives.
With that in mind, here are ten habits to adopt this year that will up-level your self-care thereby bringing more ease and enjoyment into your experience.
- Consider aligning your daily habits (both magical and mundane) with the lunation cycle. I’ve written about this before here and here and I still regard it as one of the best things I’ve ever done to support my own self-care habits and sense of well-being. The “dark moon phase” of the lunation cycle (the two or three days before a new
moon, and the day of the new moon as well) are days I use to “check in” with myself on the progress of my self-care habits. The dark moon days are also great for introspection, meditation, pampering, and also for tidying up and decluttering. - Cook for yourself. Cooking doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. There are plenty of simple recipes that are both nourishing and delicious. Preparing food is a time-honored way of showing love. Show yourself some love by preparing yourself something healthy, delicious, nourishing, and comforting. Eat it mindfully.
- Do some decluttering. You might not have ever considered decluttering to be self-care, however, done with the intention of self-love and respect it becomes a powerful and magical act. We think nothing of sprucing up our home for company, why wouldn’t we do it for our self? Keeping our environment neat is an act of self-love and self-respect. Plus, decluttering always facilitates a shift in energy.
- Have preferences. That might sound ridiculous at first, and you might think that we all have preferences. But, I remember a time in my life when I almost always deferred to everyone else. I never had a preference of my
own. When I was asked where I wanted to eat or what movie I wanted to see I would nearly always reply with something like, “Oh, it doesn’t matter to me, let’s see the movie you want!” Eventually, people stopped asking me what I wanted. The Universe showed me this reflection in a very big way. When someone asks you what you want, take the time to recognize what you prefer and then verbalize it. Telling them you don’t have a preference might seem like you are showing a kindness to them, but it isn’t being kind to yourself. Respect yourself enough to care about your preferences. What do you want? Figure it out. It might be difficult at first if you’ve been used to deferring to everyone else for a long time. That’s okay, it will get easier with practice. This one habit will change your life. - Keep a journal. I love a bullet journal for keeping track of self-care habits – plus just the act of sitting down to a journal with a favorite pen feels so good to me that I have to include it in any self-care list.
- Start a gratitude practice. Studies have shown that even a weekly gratitude practice increases your level of happiness. One of my favorite gratitude practices is to look for evidence of abundance, health, love, and magic
in my life. That seems to sum it all up for me. Here’s another easy way to create a gratitude and mindfulness practice. Remember, what you focus on expands, so finding evidence of goodness in your life will automatically create more things to feel good about. - Drink enough water. Pretty basic, yes, but we cannot experience vibrant health without enough water. Start with a big glass upon waking in the morning; you’ve been asleep all night and your body is ready for hydration.
- Read poetry. Reading (and writing) poetry to a loved one is another activity that has long been recognized as a beautiful act of love. Why not read some poetry to show yourself some love, too? Better yet, write a poem
to yourself, from your heart of hearts. Poetry, art, music, and all forms of beauty are good for your soul. - Say yes. When someone offers you a helping hand, a glass of water, to pick up the lunch tab, to return a favor – say yes. So often we automatically refuse these offers. Learn to flex those receiving muscles by saying yes.
- Say no. It’s okay to say no. You don’t need a “valid excuse”. The fact that you do not want to say yes is enough. Saying no to someone else is often necessary to allow us to say yes to our self. If you’re feeling guilty about saying “no” it is likely because you have a value attached to the task. The habit of saying yes when you’d rather not is most likely because you want to honor the value that the task represents to you. It is usually possible to
honor your values in a way that feels good instead of by saying yes when you’d rather not.
There is no substitute for self-care. Good self-care habits lead to less stress, better health, more enjoyment, peace, harmony and a greater sense of well-being.
These ten ideas have the potential to change your life. Follow your intuition and choose one or two to start. Before you know it you’ll be loving yourself up every single day and the Universe will reflect this back to you in a brilliant show of delightful people, events, and opportunities showing up in your experience.
More by Cindie:
Cindie Chavez is known as “The Love & Magic Coach”. She is the creator of MOONTREAT™ – and she has some great free stuff for you at her website: www.cindiechavez.com
Confluence Daily is the one place where everything comes together. The one-stop for daily news for women.
Cindie Chavez is known as “The Love & Magic Coach”. She is the creator of MOONTREAT™ – and she has some great free stuff for you at her website: www.cindiechavez.com
Confluence Daily is the one place where everything comes together. The one-stop for daily news for women.
