“Your body is precious. It is your vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” - Buddha
The most precious relationship we have in this life is with ourselves. When busy lifestyles get in the way and schedules fills up, the first thing we forget is our own mind and body. By neglecting ourselves we risk burnout and exhaustion. After experiencing this myself and spending many years taking time to really identify those key factors and recover from burnout, I thought putting together some simple and important ways to help you reconnect with yourself will help you understand how to meet your own mental, emotional and physical needs.
Implementing a self-care practice allows us to connect with ourselves on a deeper level, and truly understand what our wants and needs are. Self-care supports us everyday, it teaches us to not “sweat the small stuff” and provides us with a different perspective on our own lives and those around us. Self-care helps us find what we’re truly passionate about and puts us on a path to a more fulfilled life.
Our 10 best Self Care practices to keep a positive and healthy mind, body and soul
Do Your Thing
Regularly put aside time to do an activity you really enjoy. Whether it be a walk with your dog or alone, reading a good book or magazine, listening to a podcast or your favourite album, or spending some time outside. Make sure you schedule this into your day until it becomes a part of your daily routine.
Relax Already
We hear it all the time but you will surprised by the positive impact of taking 5-10 minutes out of your day to meditate or breathe consciously. If you’re not sure how to start there are some great guided meditation apps you can download straight to your phone to help you find some zen. We are loving “Calm” and “Simple Habit” for an easy to follow way to your Bliss each day.
Eight Hours baby!
Good quality sleep is so important to your overall wellbeing and state of mind. Turn off all electronic devices 60 minutes before bed, dim the lights and burn some soothing essential oils like lavender to help you unwind. We also recommend reading a book or setting our intentions for the next day. This will help your mind “switch off” and add to a well-rested night’s sleep.
Meal time
Some slight adjustments to your diet will make you feel more nourished and make a huge difference in your overall wellbeing. Let’s face it, we don’t always have time to cook delicious and healthy meals so try having two “go-to Meals” that are quick and easy to prepare and are also nourishing. This may be a healthy salad option from a nearby restaurant or easy to put together ingredients at home. You can also try minimising your meal options by choosing two to three of your favourite healthy meals and rotating these for a week. Keep it simple and go easy on yourself! Your mind and body will thank you for it!
Get Moving
Adding in a little exercise to your routine 3-4 times a week is vital for your mental health as well as your physical health. Mix up your routine with something different, take a class or walk a different path than your usual route. Make sure you schedule your exercise in your calendar each week and do it for you.
Make a plan
Start planning something to look forward to. Make a plan for a getaway, a day trip or an outing.This may be alone or with a friend but think about putting time aside for you. You may not be able to go far or for very long but that’s okay. It’s about actively taking some steps towards spoiling yourself and recharging those self-care batteries.
Pass Me the Water
As busy women, we tend to forget to stay hydrated. Drinking water has so many benefits to our body, as well as our mind. We need big doses of H2O every day to keep us functioning at our optimum. Water also assists in managing our stress levels. If you are like the vast majority of us who reach for a coffee before the water, try making a conscious effort to hydrate before you caffeinate. Keep a sustainable refillable water bottle on you and try to mix it up by adding fruits or vegetables to your water for a summery twist!
Keep Connected
Keep yourself connected to your favourite people on this earth. Stay in regular contact with friends or family and plan something you both enjoy doing. It may be a simple walk, a movie date or even just a chat on the phone.
Tell Me Again
Practicing daily positive affirmations are the most important thing you can do to keep your mind focused on how amazing you are. Stick them to your bathroom mirror, place them next to your bed or in your car. Recite them daily as part of your routine and say them with conviction. We become what we think and say that we are. Nothing but positive thoughts and empowering self talk allowed! Even on your darkest days!
Repeat After Me - Just Be You!
Remember this, you are enough, just as you are!
Written with love - Kirsten x
One of the key benefits of coming to Bliss Sanctuary For Women is that so many women take that special time out for themselves to clear their mind, honour their body and nurture their soul and then after 7 days of doing only this, they leave with a blissful mind. But you don’t need to go to a yoga retreat or health retreat to achieve this in your everyday life. Imagine if we focussed on ourselves for 10 minutes a day, the positive impact this can have.
To me World Mental Health Day (October 10th) is very much about creating a blissful mind set to really authentically look after our mental health.
It is the ultimate expression of self love.
I hope these tips encourage you to put yourself first even if only for 10 minutes a day and love and cherish yourself the way you deserve.
Love Zoë x
We wanted to share our Bliss experience as far as it can go and so we created Bliss News. Even if you can’t go on a beautiful personalised Women’s Retreat right now, we hope you can take the time to add a bit more bliss to your life in whatever way you choose. Self love comes in all different shapes and sizes but the one thing it has in common is that it starts with you. We hope some of our ideas and laughs and wellness retreat additions are something you can incorporate into your everyday life... love Zoë xxx
Here’s what some of our amazing guests had to say about their personalised bliss experience and why they want to come back.
