We all hear Self Care, Self Love, Self blah blah blah.... but what does all that actually mean?
Carly here! Ready to show you some fun and easy ways to incorporate actual self care into your life!
My friends and I have started a Women Empowerment group and in our first activity, we made our own Self Care Menu!
My menu consisted of about 15 different quick and easy tools and activities to implement into my mornings to ensure a great start to every day, and I'm going to share it with you all!
Try to spend at least 15-30 minutes each morning doing one or more of the menu items, I tend do an hour or more if i have the time! Self Care can be a little or a lot, it doesn't matter! Just tune into YOU and listen to what feels right to you!
Meditation
My favorite self care technique. There's really something so incredible about shutting off the outside world and tuning into yourself and your own inner knowing. I like to throw on a guided meditation by the Honest Guys on youtube and just allow myself to let go and feel the benefits of the meditation.
Visualization
Visualization is a great tool for manifesting the way you want your day to play out, or even manifesting your short term or long term goals! Its similar to meditation, but this time you actively visualize what you want down to the details and the emotions you feel in the process!
Gratitude List
This one could be done many ways, but my favorite way to do a gratitude list is to pick 1 or 2 things I'm grateful for, and then write down 8-10 reasons on why I am grateful for said things! That allows you to really get into the emotion of gratefulness, instead of just listing out 50 things without writing why!
Oracle Cards
Oracle Cards are a beautiful tool to use to tune into your Higher Self and your guides. It really helps me feel connected to something bigger than myself and allows me to understand my purpose in this life! I use Doreen Virtue's Oracle Card decks... I have about 15 of them because I'm an extremist and I can't be tamed, but 1 deck would work. Choose whatever deck calls to you! I love to pull cards in the morning when the energy of the day is fresh and quiet. There are many different ways to pull the cards, just do what resonates with you!
Draw, Paint, or Color
This also brings you back to center and out of your head. I like to intuitively draw or paint. Whatever happens, happens kind of vibe. the always turn out very abstract... but boy does it feel good to just let go and create! I also love coloring in those Mandala Meditation coloring books! Coloring in the lines is NOT required ;)
Positive Affirmations
Create 5-10 Positive Affirmations about yourself, your body, your mental state, etc etc... Say those things aloud in the mirror while looking into your own eyes. This is extremely powerful because in pushes out all the negative and false beliefs about yourself and replaces them with these new positive beliefs!
Spiritual Reading
I LIVE for a good spiritual book... My favorites will all be listed for sale on my site in February! There are tons of self help books, spiritual books, and interactive books out there. Find one you feel something towards and that's the one for you!
Breathwork
The breath is a powerful tool for cleansing and clearing your own energy, passing through emotions, and coming back to center. You can find different breathwork exercises on youtube. My personal favorite is breath of fire from Kundalini!
Self Massage/Stretches
Mmm just writing those words instantly brings a calmness over my body. There's something really special about just slowly massaging every part of your body and connecting to the actual miracle that you are! Soft stretches are a great tool to get connected and ready for a day full of awareness!
Love Letter to Yourself
This is always a good idea, and will never get old. As you change and evolve, so does all the things you feel about yourself. Its powerful to address those things you think you don't like about yourself and FILL THOSE PLACES WITH LOVE!!! Do that for awhile and watch how your views about yourself change.
Morning Facial
I LOVE my Korean Skincare routine... its about 10 steps and pretty much just consists of me rubbing different oils and whatnot all over my face slowly... like a facial massage. I recently got one of those Rose Quartz facial rollers and I'm absolutely LOVING it... Just grab whatever skin products you have and use them all intuitively to create your own facial!
Journaling
This one seems pretty self explanatory, but honestly sometimes I sit down with my journal and I'm like.. okay, now what? Some things you can write about are: whatever's bothering you, what's going on in your life, how you feel and where you feel it in your body, favorite moments, short term and long term goals, 5 year plan, dream life, dream house, questions for your guides, channeled information, processing childhood trauma, letters to your inner child, the possibilities are endless really! Just grab your journal and a pen and start that stream of consciousness!
Earthing/Grounding
Earthing is an ancient method of connecting your energy to the Earth's energy! All you have to do is get outside and stand on the grass, dirt, soil or sand barefoot! You can pair it with visualization of swirling your energy together with the Earth's energy! Do this for as long as you need.
Dance
Throw on your favorite song and get moving! Not only is this great exercise, but its a lovely way to get grounded into your body after sleeping and dreaming in the astral plane! You can expel stagnant energy from your body with dance and visualizations! Just make sure to cleanse your space afterwards! I will be doing a MerkaBLOG post on cleansing your space soon!
Yoga
Yoga is a beautiful combination of many of these menu items all in one! I like to put on a restorative or yin yoga class on youtube and practice in my own home, but it's super easy to find a yoga studio near you if you're unfamiliar with the poses or prefer group classes!
So there you have it! That is my marvelous Self Care Menu! Here is a photo of what it looks like! I'm going to laminate it so I can check off whatever items I've done that day or week so i can experience a good variety!
