How to Practice Self-Care A Beginner’s Guide

What is self-care?

The World Health Organization defines self-care as

“the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.”

How mindfulness could make you selfish

A recent article by the BBC News website how mindfulness could make you selfish describes how practicing mindfulness can exaggerate people’s selfish tendencies. By increasing their focus inwards, the participants were forgetting about other people, and also were less willing to help people in need.

But luckily the same practices with different mindsets can have better outcomes.

The Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, ran a nine-month trial where people did exercises aimed at improving their feeling of being present. Things like mindful breathing, and loving-kindness meditations (a meditation is where you deliberately think about your connection with others, including family, friends, and strangers). Participants compassion increased significantly after doing the loving-kindness meditations and by working together in pairs. This also reduced stress the most. So thinking of others with kindness and human connections can reduce your stress.

It is your Intention that matters

This means your intention is the key. Why are you doing these self-care practices? If you are following the yogic practices of “no harm” (to yourself and others) your practice will allow you to thrive, flourish and transform.

How to start your self-care practice?

Split wellness into the categories listed below, as it helps you understand which aspects of your life you might be neglecting. And helps you decide where to target your self-care practice.

PHYSICAL Wellness

How are you feeling in your body today, any aches and pains? 

EMOTIONAL Wellness

What are you feeling in yourself? Maybe you feel sad or lonely or anxious or maybe you feel grateful and happy.

SPIRITUAL Wellness

Do I have a sene of  purpose? Does my life have meaning?

SOCIAL/INTELLECTUAL Wellness

Have I a strong connection with the people around me, friends and family etc? Do I feel stimulated intellectually?

ENVIRONMENTAL Wellness

Do I live in a healthy space? Is there air pollution, noise pollution or light pollution. 

VOCATIONAL/FINANCIAL Wellness

Is there satisfaction in my work? Do I have a healthy work/life balance? And am I financially stable?

An embodied approach

Once you figure out what aspects of your life may need some more attention you can start to dive a little deeper. 

Ask yourself these questions?

• What is it that I want?

• What is holding me back from achieving this?

• What can I do to support myself moving forward?

This isn’t about selfish wants. It is about the aspects of your life that might be lacking need to improve so that you can flourish.

Sometimes it can be hard to identify what is lacking in your life, you might just experience “feeling stuck”. This is where an embodied approach can help. When you deepen your body connection, you can process mentally and emotionally in that embodied state. Here you can start to find clarity.

Some fun ways to practice self-care 

1. By Chakra

Learn more about chakras here