10 Practical Self-care Ideas
Self-care and self-love are much more than treating yourself to a pizza and ice cream on Friday night or buying an expensive face mask. It is more about building healthy physical, mental and emotional habits and an overall balance in your life. A way of accepting your insecurities and mistakes and learning that you are enough. It is a long and complicated process but you can start by making small changes in your daily life. It is interesting how incorporating just a few seemingly insignificant habits like walking more, waking up early and going for yoga can be changing your attitude and perspective in the long run.
1. Meditate
Meditation has become quite popular in the last few years because the stress levels of modern life are higher than ever and people are naturally looking for ways to calm their loud minds. Meditation is known to increase memory, self-awareness and self-control. By meditating you can reduce cortisol, which is a stress-induced hormone, that can make you feel anxious. It is also known to increase the production of dopamine and boost the immune system. If you have ever wondered why “yoga people” look so fresh and young even when they are older, meditation is the answer, it is known to slow the ageing process.
If you are already practicing meditation, why not check your local yoga studios for interesting practices that you can experiment with, such as sound healing meditation, dance meditation or a salt room meditation.
If you are not comfortable sitting in a room with strangers or you don’t have time for it, we highly recommend trying out an app - Calm is voted for the best meditation app for 2019 as well as Head Space or Simple Habit.
2. Build a healthy morning routine.
Don’t start your day with your phone! Checking your phone immediately after you wake up can leave you stressed, overwhelmed and anxious for the rest of your day. Seeing all the e-mails, messages, social media, the first thing in the morning is definitely not a relaxing way to start your day. A study has shown that high phone usage is also directly correlated to depression, especially among people in their 20s.
Starting your day with your phone, also means that your mind will be immediately occupied by other people, leaving you distracted by their agenda for the day instead of focusing on your own goals. Try to substitute the time in the morning with activities which stimulate you to be more focused and productive like meditation, eating a healthy breakfast, doing your yoga practice or going for a run, reading, drinking mint tea or preparing your work lunch.
3. Choose a book over Netflix.
It is so easy to get lost in the endless sea of movies and series on Netflix. Instead of binge-watching Gilmore Girls, set some time aside to read a book. People often complain that they don’t have enough time for more books but the truth is that we have to make time for the things that are important and we have to prioritize the activities that lead to personal growth. You can even set a 20-30 minutes a day morning or evening especially for a reading ritual. Choose a book that is not related to your work and let your mind rest and learn something new. Why don’t you try ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg - it might actually help with the previous point about morning routine and healthy habits.
4. Choose your feet over wheels.
A walk in the morning can do miracles. Starting your day with fresh air and a walk to work or just around your neighbourhood will boost your energy and reduce stress and anxiety. It will also improve your ability to focus throughout the day. And if this is not enough for you, walking in the morning will strengthen your leg muscles and may help you lose weight, as only 30 minutes walking can burn up to 150 calories. Simple things that we often forget, yet they add up and can make a difference in your daily life.
5. Listen to music
Numerous studies have shown that music can benefit our mental health. According to them, listening to music increases the production of dopamine in the brain. Hearing your favorite music is also an effective stress reliever and a good mood booster.
Music is not only a great way to decrease your stress level, but also an excellent source of inspiration. Listen to some of our favorite and most inspiring songs on the 05 Studio playlist.
When you want to focus in order to study or be less distracted, you can try brain.fm - functional music that boosts productivity.
6. Learn to be compassionate to yourself
Soothing your inner self-critic that often overthinks and creates huge problems out of nothing. Try to be more mindful of the way you speak to yourself in your head and be more gentle, forgiving and encouraging towards yourself. Once you manage to identify your thought patterns you can learn to interrupt them and replace them with positive ones. This will also enable you to say no to things you don’t want to do and establish healthy boundaries.
7. Experiment with new recipes
Cooking can be a very calming activity. Try making a dish that you’ve always wanted to cook. Then decorate it and serve it with attention to...yourself. Even if it is just simple pasta. Make it special as you’d do for a loved one. Light some candles and enjoy a dinner with yourself!
How about you try to have more home-cooked meals? Having something healthy for lunch while at work will help you avoid junk food and snacks and will keep your diet balanced. Having proper nutritious meals will also bring you more energy.
8. Try journaling
Journaling is a powerful tool to gather your thoughts, calm your mind and get a fresh perspective and insights about your own problems and behavioural patterns. Whether you keep a gratitude journal every night or do morning pages to set positive affirmations for the day, it is helpful to vocalize your thoughts on paper. If you don’t know how to start or what to write there are plenty of posts online with numerous journal prompts to jump start your mental and emotional journey into journaling so you can explore different topics and get more acquainted with your own feelings.
9. Stop alcohol for 1 month and drink more water
Cutting alcohol will improve your sleeping pattern, which will make you more productive and boost your brainpower. Stopping alcohol for a month will also result in weight loss, as most alcoholic drinks are high in calories and full of sugar. When you drink, your body loses way more liquid than it actually intakes, therefore you will be more hydrated. By the end of the month, you will feel more energetic and your skin will look fresh and glowy because it is not dehydrated anymore. Speaking of - drinking 1,5-2l of water a day is a must and your skin will love it. Add some lemon in the morning or fresh celery juice for more nutrients.
10. Do yoga in your underwear
One of our customers recently told us that she loves her Selene bra for her kundalini yoga practice because it is so soft and comfortable. And we thought - how cool would it be to do your morning yoga at home in just your underwear. Try it out!