What does self care mean to you? To me, it is having a routine of health and wellness practices with the intention of balance. When I feel healthy and balanced, I am able to live with compassion for myself and others as well as provide support to the people around me. My self care rituals help me maintain my physical, emotional, and and mental well-being.
Self-love: /ˈˌself ˈləv/
noun
Regard for one's own well-being and happiness (chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic).
Three of my favorite/easiest self care practices:
Going to bed before 11:00 PM. This has not been a practice of mine for very long as I used to work at a sports bar and would work late hours. However, once I was no longer tending bar and made my sleep schedule a priority of my well being I truly have a hard time staying up later than 11:00 PM. I'm an over achiever now and usually hit the sheets by 9:30. According to plenty of research, our most valuable hours of sleep occur before midnight. Our circadian rhythm is essential for regulating the body. Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan, a sleep expert and author of Tired But Wired: The Essential Sleep Toolkit offers a lot of great information in her book including the benefits of sleeping before midnight.
Waking up between 5:30 and 6:30 AM. This is a nice for me to wake up. Your optimal wake up time is always going to depend on your bedtime, but once you stabilize your bedtime it is easy to wake up at this time. According to the Traditional Chinese Medicine body organ clock, between 5:00 and 7:00 AM is the time of the large intestine and it is believed to be the perfect time to have your morning bowel movement.
Big cup of water upon waking. Yes, before coffee. :) I don't think much evidence of health benefits is needed to agree that this is completely necessary. Our bodies do so much for us while we sleep and 8 hours is a long time to go without water. With that said, I'm loving these cups from amazon. Yes, they are acrylic, but stainless steel cups/water bottles really kill my outfits and I always end up dropping glass water bottles. These cups are so bomb in my opinion. Having a favorite cup helps me stay motivated/reminds me to stay as hydrated as I need to be. Your skin, muscles, organs, joints, hair, and nails will thank you by making you gorgeous.
Of course there are going to be nights where we can't make it to bed by 9:30 PM or wake up at an extremely aggressive hour such as 5:00 AM, but that's okay! There's always tomorrow. The only thing that is a non negotiable is the big cup of water- that is so easy y'all. <3