Friday Reflections: Self-Care
This week on the blog we shared a personal and powerful testimony from Cara and some practical thoughts from Kellye on how to help missionaries prepare for service. In both articles we recognized a need for self-care. We must take care of ourselves so that we are able to serve and care for others. Yet the concept of self-care often feels selfish, or unimportant compared to the other issues facing us on a daily basis. Today, we want to begin an on-going conversation around self-care and to offer a few ways that we try and practice self-care. We are each going to give some ideas and invite you to join in the conversation by leaving comments about how you care for yourself. Our desire is to create resource list so that we can each learn and experiment with what helps bring refreshment to our weary souls. Here are some ways Kellye and Cara each practice self-care:
Kellye:
I sometimes take a walk without listening to music or podcasts. Eliminating the added noise helps me to calm down.
A few times a week I do 10-15 minutes of cardio. A little can go a long way.
When I can, I stay in bed an extra 30-45 minutes, even if I’m not asleep. It feels amazing.
I enjoy eating desserts (and I don’t feel guilty about that) but too much sugar slows me down. A couple times a week I exchange my zebra cakes for a piece of fruit or a cup of tea.
Cara:
I love hot tea in the evening (my current favorite is honey vanilla chamomile). It helps to relax my body, and as I drink it I try to focus on the sensation of the warmth as a means of slowing down and releasing the tension in my body.
I have spare canvases that I will use to paint or create some kind of art with. It is not necessarily something I would hang in my house, and it is not about perfection. It is just about the rhythm of painting with the brush and playing with different colors and textures.
Photography is a hobby for me. But it makes me slow down, observe the world and take time to notice things from different perspectives and angles.
I have started ice-skating with my youngest daughter. She practices and I just skate around the ice feeling the movement, listening to my skates. It can be very calming and relaxing.
I try to spend 5-10 minutes each day reminding myself to take slow deep breaths. I try to focus on any parts of my body that feel tight and concentrate on relaxing those parts. It has helped me become more aware of how my body is dealing with stress. My goal is to do this several times in the day but I am not quite there yet.
What are some ways that you practice self-care? We would love to see your ideas in the comments!