We can create a powerful movement to shift positive influence into our bodies and minds by practicing self-care. However, the word “self-care” is over-saturated and because of this people steer clear away from this word. They may miss the opportunity of it becoming something meaningful or might become a space to grow in. That’s why I choose to use the word “self-wellness” It reaches a greater extent than just taking hot baths and hair masques. Although that could boost our self-esteem I don’t believe it is digging out the depth that we need to heal our mental health or body esteem.
These are some things that have helped me throughout my journey in self-development, even when I was having those days where I felt like I was stuck in a void… they are the ones that were the supporters for me, like super glue… these self wellness tips have stuck with me.
Chapter I:
The Body
Although this might seem obvious, not everyone truly understands how our bodies work when we move them.
- Moving the Body. Either taking a walk outside, running, going to the gym, or yoga – any form of movement or exercise will start the progression from healing the body to the next chapter – the mind, for now, it’s important to start with the body, that way we can become more clear-headed and it gets the energy flowing, the blood moving, and the breath shaking out the stagnant energy we have built up, it also increases endorphins and stabilizes our nervous system, Movement in the body every day is just all-around healthy for us. If you want to learn more about the dynamics of movement and how it benefits your everyday life, here is an excellent website to check out https://www.colorado.edu/health/2021/02/11/mental-health-moving-your-body
- Appreciating our body for what it does for us. Taking a moment out of the day to appreciate our bodies helps us realize the capabilities we have as humans and the limitations we might set for ourselves. Just think of how much work our feet and hands do.
- Learning to not abandon the routines that make us feel good. I put this within the body category because moving our bodies and making it a daily ritual is key to not letting our emotions fester, when we move we are also releasing the place where energy can get stuck emotionally! So even if we don’t feel like it, we can apply this rule: count to three and just do it without even thinking about it. It does not matter what you feel before or after you do it because small habits like this will eventually create bigger changes, and you’ll notice them.
Chapter II
The Mind
After moving our bodies, it’s time to create a new space to direct our mentality.
- Something that you can “brain dump” into. If you haven’t heard of brain dumping before, look here: (https://psychcentral.com/health/using-brain-dumping-to-manage-anxiety-and-over-thinking). because journaling isn’t for everyone so I suggest exploring options, and how you want to feel, which can be the first baby step. We might enjoy making mood boards, painting, creating something, something we can dump our expressions into – it does not matter what it looks like, as long as the goal of dumping your mind into something is happening.
2. Give yourself a passion or a forward premonition to look forward to. Is there anything you’ve wanted to try? Even if it’s just a simple meal or class? Doing something new will trigger your brain into that excitement mode and look for new things to look forward to and give it that extra dazzle in life, I can say I did this so much with traveling and since then my brain, no matter where I am in the world, looks for new things to experience. It can even be as simple as using a weekend or day to make a wholesome meal for yourself or go out and dress up.
3. Diminishing time on social media. Social media takes up our mental and emotional energy. If you notice in the morning, especially how something can subtly switch our moods by looking at our phones straight away or frequently it gives us a dull impersonation of our own life. I urge you to watch this well-curated documentary or read about how social media affects our mental health and could deteriorate it. This film brought me back to myself again – https://www.thesocialdilemma.com
4. Basic Needs being met. This one can seem obvious but sometimes we forget to check in with ourselves, so we can ask ourselves these simple but solid principles to a pillar of calmness. For example, Did we eat enough today? Did we drink enough water? Did we move our bodies? Have we talked to anyone in the past couple of days? Have we showered? Are we sleeping well at night? Do we feel loved and cared for by ourselves and others? If not, what can we do to take the steps to get there?
5. An absurd Idea but absolutely works. Screaming, crying, and talking out loud, maybe even all at once. I remember I took a class called biogenetics when I was in Thailand; it was about getting the energy moving out of your body and releasing your emotion through screaming, crying, laughing, and so forth I’m sure most people have heard of laughter yoga it as well. However, if we are feeling sad or angry, I think the easiest way to release it is to express what it wants at that moment – through a healthy expression of course. For example, anger: screaming…Not at yourself or anyone, just out loud, into the pillow, or if you’re around the ocean I suggest taking a dip in there and screaming underwater because no one can hear you – just make sure to not swallow the water, I used to do this every day because it was such a good release for me.
Sadness: crying… we can understand the picture, we can even ask ourselves what it wants to express. Another weird idea I fell in love with is talking out loud into the sky. We can get stuck in our heads so easily but if we talk out loud I find we can feel as if someone is listening and we can redirect our thoughts influentially back to a neutral state. I love journaling but sometimes it does not always work in a way where it creates a huge impact so there a flow of conversation out loud directs me toward an understanding of myself. To hear my voice of reason and deceit, I can see where I am coming from and where I might see things in black and white.
In our lives, there are many ideas for creating a self-wellness routine or habit, but it comes down to each of us how we want to develop it for ourselves. In order to explore the self, we need to find the best movement for our own bodies, followed by finding our own mind’s balance, however, it looks to each of us.
The most important question to ask is how are we feeling? How we can transmute that in a way where it demands the best of ourselves?
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest”
Confucius
Let me know if you have any self-wellness ideas of your own that I haven’t listed and how they helped you, they may just help someone today!
Neena xx
