What Is Self-Care?

📸💅🏻🧴 Social media, advertisements, etc have led us to have a very narrow view of Self-care. Travelling to picturesque locations, getting an expensive spa, buying beauty products- are these really Self-care? Yes! 😇 For those who enjoy them and can afford them. But there’s much more to it! 

💰Self-care doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money. You can take care of yourself in small, consistent ways too- eating your meals on time, giving your mind & body good amount of rest, regulating your emotions through mindfulness practices, reading, writing, taking out time for your hobbies- all these are also forms of Self-care. 

🚶🏻‍♀️Cannot go for an early morning 1 hour yoga class? No problem, take a 15 minute walk after work in the evening. 

🚗 Cannot go for a week-long vacation? Go for a long drive away from the city. 

☕️ Don’t feel like hanging out with friends? Sit with a cup of tea next to your window and watch the clouds pass by!

✍🏻 Self-care is not a one-size-fits-all prescription. It looks different for different people. Use the resources you have, with the time and energy you can afford to dedicate, to take care of yourself in ways YOU find enjoyable and doable. Strike a balance between being gentle vs being firm with yourself.

🧐Take out 10 minutes of your time today and make a list of ways in which you are already/need to take care of yourself:

💪🏻 Physically (food, sleep, fitness, etc)

🧠 Mentally (reading, hobbies, etc)

♥️ Emotionally (regulating & processing emotions)

🧘🏻‍♀️ Spiritually (meditation, religious practices you believe in, etc)

💸 Practically (paying bills, doing chores, etc)

🫂 Socially (meaningful connections)

Acknowledge where you are already doing good! 🥳 Work on areas that might need improvement. 🥰 

⏰ Try to keep a wholistic approach to your Self-Care practices, cover a little bit from every category, find tiny pockets of time in your busy schedule, put in a reminder or block your calendar, etc. 

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