Self care is health care.

What do you do for self care? Daily or weekly.

I have a list with things that I do and choose from them, do not do them all in the same day. But many from the list.

- meditate;
- stretching;
- cook something very simple, can be a fruit salad;
- knit outside on the balcony, in the sun;
- take a bath;
- go for a walk;
- listen to music or sounds from nature (birds, river, wind, rain etc. on youtube while knitting or reading);
- cleaning the house;
- gardening on the balcony;
- playing with the cat or...just listening to the purring cat...a sort of therapy for me.
Etc.

 

Daily:
- meditate
- nutritious green smoothie in the am
- generous sun exposure
- short stretching routine
- walk my dog and my cat who thinks she is a dog

Weekly:
- calisthenics and a little weight work
- hike
- write about emotions
- dream about what I'd like to experience/accomplish in my life
- read fiction and watch philosophical debates on YT
- game on my PC

 

My daily health care routine

Aim for a healthy diet
Take lunch breaks
Go for a walk at lunchtime
Get some exercise before/after work regularly
Develop a regular sleep routine
Meditate

 

Perhaps not every week but fairly often, I watch 'virtual ' walks on YouTube. They have often been produced by amateurs (I like the less polished quality) but some have been filmed to be used by people when working out on treadmills etc. I usually only watch ones which have beautiful countryside or seaside scenery because that is what I like. I also tend to pick ones which are walks in the sunshine and have nature sounds rather than music .I sit in a comfortable chair and really let myself be absorbed into the scenery. Especially great in winter.

I go for a walk every morning first thing. At the moment it's very pretty with the new leaves coming on the trees, the water lily leaves poking up through the surface of the pond and newborn lambs with their mothers in the fields. I am very lucky that I can walk three minutes out of my door and see this.

I severely limit my daily exposure to the news to what is just necessary to know. Anything more can depress and upset me so I try to avoid it.

I love reading but it doesn't matter how many brilliant reviews a book has had, if it mainlines misery I just walk on by and find something more personally uplifting.

There are other things I do but not as regularly as every day or week. I shall be looking for inspiration from other posters!

 

Nice Solange. It sounds wonderful the scenery, you are indeed lucky.

I too, stopped watching the news. Entirely. Don't care anymore. Got sick of it. I find online "positive news" and read them. Quite interesting.

Take care.

 

Some more:

- taking supplements daily;
- having a very healthy diet, I made some significant changes recently;
- keeping the mind clean, using mantras and affirmations daily;
- not complaining (this one is hard, I have to remind myself over and over to practice it);
- spending less and less time online and more and more time with my hobbies and outside in nature. Making espadrilles, knitting, baking bread, cleaning the house. I found that choosing to clean something daily relaxes me.

 

I try and get outside each day. Some sun and fresh air, green tea, veggies sautéed with garlic/brown rice/lemon. Reading Bible verses and trying to memorize them. Cleaning and cooking.....there are so many wonderful little sweet things we can do with ourselves to calm the CNS.

 

I started too - to spend more time outside. Especially in the morning for sun exposure. It's cold here but I get my winter coat and mittens and do my best to get sun exposure for 15-20 min/day on my face, eyes etc. I sit in the back yard and knit.

 

Being outside in Nature is so important for me. It's a long time since I posted and I now live somewhere different but I still get to have lovely walks every morning. Now, the walks are along a canalside, which runs for some distance from very close to my house, and I get to see all sorts of waterfowl and some nesting swans too which have managed to build a huge nest (well, I suppose they are big birds!) among the reeds. The parent swans have hatched and reared cygnets there for the last few years and I have watched them develop from tennis ball size, grey fluffy little things sheltering under a very protective parental wing to the full size article but still with traces of juvenile plumage to distinguish them from Ma and Pa. I enjoy seeing the reeds and bullrushes grow and watching the hawthorn bushes flower and best of all, picking enough blackberries from the hedgerow brambles to take home and make a blackberry crumble. Perfection!

I am also lucky to have a very good library here and I use it a lot to read whole range of books old and new but if I want/need a little quick self care, I look to my own bookcase and read either poetry-John Clare's nature poetry is a favourite of mine, Miss Read books, LM Montgomery stories or Alexander Mc Call Smith stories, especially the Lady Detective stories set in Botswana. I have got most of these from charity shops so I can also feel I've helped someone else- bonus.

A cup of strong rooibos tea or a double espresso is always appreciated and makes me slow down for a while- or should that be speed up where the espresso is concerned?!

I like art so I have a calendar which shows a new picture or photo every day. It's great to start the morning by looking at something new and beautiful.

At the moment, sitting outside in the sunshine stroking the neighbour's friendly cat and admiring the red and pink tulips that I planted in the flowerbed last year is very peaceful though I do have to admit that after a while my eye zones in on the weeds and I feel compelled to go and pull them up. I have a lovely pair of bright yellow gardening gloves which bring pleasure even to the task of weeding.

I try to eat healthily and not overindulge but I enjoy a square or two of dark chocolate (make it 85% cocoa solids) nearly every day.

I try to find things to watch on TV that are light-hearted and entertaining or nature programmes by David Attenborough, 99 years old and still going strong. A decent man. I hope we keep him for a few years yet!

I enjoyed reading about what other people do and have taken inspiration from it to put up my new post.
Thinking of you all out there and wishing you a good day today.

 

I’ve been making an effort to get sun first thing in the morning (of course with sunscreen and a hat; I live in a warm climate). I’ll make myself a matcha latte, which I’ve been enjoying the ritual, and sit on our patio. I’ll water my flowers and plants and watch my dogs play. My goal is to get as much disconnected from social media as possible. It’s never made me feel good about myself.

 

Oh this sounds wonderful. I, too, love reading about people’s rituals. Hope you have a good day too.

 

Thank you for your lovely comment, I appreciate it. You have a wonderful weekend as well.

 

My helper & husband take our 2 dogs out in the morning so I have a lazy lie with a cup of tea which is a luxury.
I cook or bake at least once a day. I love cooking. It's so therapeutic.
Sometimes coffee or lunch with friends after yoga.
Sunday lunches are with my sister, brother in law, nephew & mom. Family time!
Evening walks at least 5 times a week & photographing the sunsets & views which can be spectacular.
Have a facial once every 3 weeks.
Have a massage every week. I have a lovely Sri Lankan lady who comes over.
Visit local dog shelter.
Read & do word games.
Watch TV with the hubs for a bit every evening.
Keep in touch with friends from around the world on whatsapp.
Talk to the 2 dogs & play around with them
&
travel!!! At least 3 or 4 times a year.

 

It seems from this thread that so many of us take pleasure and solace from the 'little' things and the natural world around us. A cup of tea, a sunset or a lie-in are all things that it is too easy to let slip past without consciously appreciating them. I guess the lesson here is that self-care does not have to be expensive, difficult or time-consuming. It's good to have people on the thread reminding me of that.

 

Yes, indeed. The little things in life are the sweetest...

Mala, thanks for your comment. Reading it, I just remember to take better care of my skin. So...I'll have a handmade mask this morning and put some fresh sliced cucumber on my eyes.

 

Enjoy Sita!

 

What a wonderful life you have, Mala!

 

Thinking about self care today... I was just thinking about letting go. Of mental stuff. Of bad habits. Of unhealthy habits. Like worrying too much, in my case. Or being overwhelmed by different stressors in life.

Keeping things more simple is a form of self care. It brings calmness into my life, mentally I mean. What is important? What is positive? How can I do what brings me joy and it's healthy? For body, mind and soul. How can I discard the unhealthy? My own answer to these questions is a form of self care.

If I feel good, I can take care of others too. Humans and pets.

Meditation helps. And exercise, and exposure to the sun every morning for a few minutes. And as Mala wrote...having a daily routine or weekly routine helps as well. It's true.
Today I baked 3 times:
- sweet and regular potatoes with avocado oil (a little) salt and other condiments;
- broccoli and mushrooms with olive oil and smoked condiments;
- salmon with herbs and a little avocado oil and salt.

I'm going out for a walk near a lake here in the area. I'm taking my husband with me. And I'm taking my knitting project as well.

 

This is so good.

I was just thinking about letting go. Of mental stuff. Of bad habits. Of unhealthy habits. Like worrying too much, in my case. Or being overwhelmed by different stressors in life.

Letting go is key to recovery.
Letting go of the past allows one to move forward.
Letting go of mental stuff that keeps you stuck is empowering.
Letting go of habits & thoughts that keep you in a self addicted 'victim' state of mind allows you to break free from the blame game which is just so tiring. Heck bad things happen to everyone. Move on.

Keeping things more simple is a form of self care. It brings calmness into my life, mentally I mean. What is important? What is positive? How can I do what brings me joy and it's healthy? For body, mind and soul. How can I discard the unhealthy? My own answer to these questions is a form of self care.

THIS IS SO SPOT ON! Finding things that give YOU joy is key to SELF care.

If I feel good, I can take care of others too. Humans and pets.

It's a wonderful feeling to put smiles on people's faces & to receive unconditional love from animals.

6 years ago five of us girlfriends decided to form a group & we call ourselves 'Divas Do Good Hong Kong'. We are not a registered charity just 5 people trying to do some good within our communities. We were thrown together when I was organising a fundraising lunch for a local dog shelter. The fundraiser called 'Bollywoof" was a huge success & the volunteers whom I worked with were absolutely amazing. This gave us the idea to form a group & raise awareness within our community to do other things. In the last 5 years we have supported, promoted & fundraised for animals, ethnic minority education, migrant workers, special needs groups, Box of Hope which gifts Christmas boxes to underprivileged children in Asia & cooked at old folks homes. Many locals have gotten to know us & trust what we do & give generously to our various causes. Doing for others is not entirely selfless, I mean we do get a great deal of pleasure from what we do, we get to meet new people, make new friends & by demonstrating concern for others, we make a difference not only in their lives but our own.
Plus focussing on doing for others takes away from focussing on your pain & allows our brain to create feelings of safety for ourselves.

We have an FB page that highlights everything that we do but not sure if its allowed to post here.


- sweet and regular potatoes with avocado oil (a little) salt and other condiments;
- broccoli and mushrooms with olive oil and smoked condiments;
- salmon with herbs and a little avocado oil and salt.

Dang that sounds good & so healthy!


Great post Sita!