Self-Care Made Simple

My Go To’s for Holistic Well-Being

If we all had a nickel for every time we heard the words self-care…

Seriously, it’s a buzz word. It has been for awhile now. We have been hammered home with the concept. Photos of luxurious bubble baths, mountaintop views, and hot yoga galore. These are all wonderful and beautiful things, don’t get me wrong, but I’m here to simplify self-care for you. Why? Because complicated isn’t my thing. And if it’s not easily accessible, I probably won’t do it. So in the spirit of simplicity, let’s get to caring about the whole self; mind, body, and spirit.

Take a Deep Breath

Yep, it really can be that simple. Check your breathing. If you find yourself breathing shallow, quick, and from the chest, odds are, you’re living in a heightened state. Your nervous system could use a little reset. Pause, inhale deep through the nose, hold for 2 seconds, exhale and let it all go out the mouth. You can even make a “hah” sound as you exhale if it feels good. Repeat this 4-8 times. Close your eyes if it helps you be present with the breath. Focus the mind on your breathing. Let everything else drift away. When you’ve completed your 4-8 deep breaths, take note of how the body feels now. You may notice less tension, a relaxed calm, or even a more streamlined focus.

Mindful Body & Skincare

I cannot begin to tell you how much my relationship to self changed when I started getting consciously present during my body and skincare routine. It was something I was already doing, I just tapped into presence instead of going through the motions while I took care of my skin. It’s about more than just applying products; it’s a sacred ritual of self-love and nourishment. Every impurity I wash away physically, I am also imagining washing away energetically. I infuse all of the rubbing in of my lotions and potions with love for this body I’ve been given to experience life with.

One thing I encourage with this practice… check your labels. By choosing skincare products made with natural, organic ingredients, we honor our bodies and the earth. We embrace practices that nurture not only the outer layer of our skin but also the inner layers of our being. Have you ever researched hormone disruptors in many of our daily skincare products…oofta. It’s not just about trends y’all, it’s about giving your body the love it deserves by applying products that encourage our body’s natural systems instead of blocking them for manmade chemicals to work their “magic”. If you’re looking for a great natural skincare brand, I’ve been using Primally Pure and am absolutely obsessed. I personally use the Balanced Regimen: The Essentials as well as the Body Butters & Blue Tansy Body Oil. Try out their products, or find another holistic brand you love.

The key is setting aside a few moments for intentional time with you and your bod. Through this mindful self-care practice, we cultivate a radiant glow that emanates from within, reflecting our inner beauty and vitality to the world. Holistic skincare is not just about looking good; it’s about feeling good, inside and out.

Intuitive Movement

Movement is medicine for the body and soul, allowing energy to flow freely and releasing tension held within. Let’s just pause for a moment…how does that sentence make you feel? Does the phrase “movement is medicine” make you want to scream a little bit because the fitness culture of the modern age makes you so self-conscious you decided to write off movement altogether?

Pause, breathe, I’m here with some love. Movement gets to be medicine when you tune out what it’s supposed to look like and tune in to how movement feels in your body. Personal story…I used to be a hot class 6 days a week, sometimes 7, working out to look good, saying I was working out to feel good kinda gal. Really, I was just running on adrenaline and dopamine from that blissed out feeling of pushing my body to its limits mixed with serious dehydration. I’m not saying hot classes are bad, not even in the slightest. I’m saying, pushing my body to its limit day in and day out without rest was probably not doing as much good as I thought it was.

So what does this look like now? What is a healthy intuitive movement practice? It looks like hot girl walks, and a YouTube Yoga Class. Outdoor workout classes with friends and dancing around the living room with my cats. I’m talking movement that’s fun, and pleasurable, and brings joy to the body. Intuitive movement is detaching from the idea that moving has to look a certain way and falling back in love with how it feels to move your body through space. Find some inspiration for your intuitive movement practice with these simple ways to get moving and have fun discovering your own.

Self-Expression is Self-Care

Creativity is a powerful force for self-discovery and healing. Set aside time each day for soulful self-expression, whether through art, writing, music, or dance. Convinced you don’t have time for this? Next time you get in your car, turn on your favorite song, sing along, and dance as much as is safe. 😉 Congrats, you just participated in some creative self-expression!

Let’s detach from the idea that creativity is only about the end product, shall we? Let it be an avenue to explore all the beauty living inside you waiting to be expressed. It’s painting because you like the feel of the paint on the canvas and the movement of the brush strokes is relaxing. Dancing because you like the song and it feels electrifying to wiggle. Singing because the lyrics give you goosebumps even if you’re terribly off-key. STOP CREATING FOR OTHER PEOPLE. Tap into your creative expression and let it be for you. So much magic is waiting for you here, you never know what it will spark.

Nature’s Touch

Mother Nature is our greatest ally on the path to holistic well-being. She is our Earth, our Mother, our Home. Just like we have an innate longing to connect with our mothers in this lifetime, our bodies have an innate longing for connecting with Mother Earth. We were not meant to live detached from her energy. Now before I get too woo on you, let’s step back into the practical and easy ways to connect with nature in your day to day.

• Put Your Feet On The Earth (otherwise known as earthing) – this brings the connection of Mother Earth’s energy directly to your body. Connecting your root with her sacred grounding energy.
• Eat Foods From the Earth – maybe getting outdoors isn’t accessible to you. Connect with Mother Earth’s energy by eating raw fruits and vegetables, welcoming their nourishment as her offering. Potatoes are an excellent grounding food as well when you need a bit more help anchoring to the now.
• Morning Sun – if all you can do is step outside on your porch or balcony in the morning, do this. Absorb some natural vitamin D and let that sunny energy infuse your cells for a few minutes a day. There’s all sorts of science that backs up the benefits of morning sun for nutrient absorption and circadian rhythm. I am not a doctor, nor a scientist, so I’m going to leave the research and fancy terms to them.

There’s 3 ways to get you started, now it’s your turn to take the baton and find fun ways to get outdoors that best suit where you are in space and time. Every person’s relationship with nature will look different, go out and explore your own.

Give Yourself Grace

The final (and most important) go to for simple self-care is….give yourself some freaking grace. We are all out here doing the best we can. We fuck up, we make mistakes, we don’t put our best foot forward, that’s part of being human. How about we stop trying to function like robots and learn to embrace our humanness. Let’s try giving ourselves grace for being on a growth journey, for learning as we go instead of having the life manual inputted upon creation.

Easy ways to do this? Don’t take yourself too seriously, learn to laugh at the little things, and grow from situations that don’t turn out as you’d hoped. If you find this concept especially difficult, here’s a fun hack for you. Next time you’ve made a mistake or something didn’t turn out as planned, picture yourself as 5 year old you. Would you berate them, beat them down for not knowing, for trying and not getting it right the first time? Probably not. You’re going to tell them “it’s okay, keep trying, you’ll get it next time.” So, put that into practice. See how the smallest shift of giving yourself grace in the here and now compounds to exponential growth and belief in yourself over time.

Well there you have it folks…

6 of my favorite go to’s when it comes to self-care. Try them all, or pick just one. This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the self-care practices to ever be…obviously. It’s a short list of some simple methods that nourish your mind, your body, and your spirit…coming together in sacred union for the care of you.