A month of ultra self-care

A month of ultra self-care

Can you believe it’s the 1st of February already?! Hope the first month of the year has been a good one for you. I started 2017 at a bit of a low point. I have to admit I hadn’t been walking my talk in the last few weeks of 2016, in fact I’d been doing the opposite. I wasn’t really taking care of myself: drinking too much, eating too much especially fried and sweet things, not exercising enough, I was getting coughs and colds which is unusual for me, and things in my life were starting to crumble personally and financially. I still find it easy to revert to bad habits when life gets stressful, it was Christmas and all that comes with it, and things can sometimes spiral more than you intend them to.

I could have easily wallowed and felt totally sorry for myself but this wasn’t going to be an option. I didn’t want to feel the way I was for a second longer. I’ve pulled myself up from similar situations and know that when I put myself first and come from a place of self-care and love, things in my life change for the better in all areas. So, rather than running a monthly self-care challenge on my website which is sent out to others, I decided to do my own ‘ultra self-care challenge’.

Like the monthly challenge, I included a different action each day, but instead of deciding them in advance I’d pick them on the day depending on how I felt and what I needed. This was just for me, in line with what I needed intuitively. There were a few set items which I know help me personally overall – no alcohol, minimal processed foods, regular movement of my body and no self-punishment (in terms of feeling guilty if I didn’t do something I didn’t honestly want to or feel that I ‘should’ be doing).

Here are a few days I recorded from the beginning of the month:

Day 1. Goal setting/planning I didn’t drink last night so feel better than I would normally. Rather than thinking about where I am I’m going to plan all the wonderful things I want to happen this year with deadlines and actionable steps. I feel positive, excited even and I’m on a mission to make this my best year yet!

Day 2. Creating a beautiful home space I cleaned up my room and lit candles and played music, to create a peaceful, clear space for myself. It feels inviting and warm and a place where I feel at home.

Day 3. Moving my body It’s bloody cold outside, but that didn’t stop me from going for a walk outside. The cold air helps clear the head and it feels good to be moving my body after a rather sluggish period.

Day 4. Natural products This year (and beyond) I am going to try and use only natural products. I just put on some hand cream with a gazillion ingredients in and feel icky. I will use up what I have already as financially that is what I need to do, but then I will only use clean, natural products.

Day 5. Pampering I am going to make a concerted effort to pamper myself at least once a week. Doing my nails at home or a facemask, bath etc. It makes me feel good about myself, which can only lead to other good things. Today it’ll be a homemade moisturising face mask.

Day 6. Rest I felt exhausted when I woke up today, so not having a great deal that had to be done (I’m so lucky to have this situation where I’m more in control of my time than if I were in a full time 9 to 5 job). I allowed myself to doze for a bit and I ended up sleeping another 3 hours. I must have needed it. So, today I’m taking it easy and will go to a gentle yin yoga class in the evening to round it all off.

I continued the month in a similar way, some days I had loads on that I had to do, but still managed to do something that would nourish myself (like buying a bunch flowers). Some days I needed more rest than others (it is winter after all) and just needed to cancel all my plans. I also let myself indulge if I needed it – I think I may have a bit of an addiction to dark chocolate!

After a month I can honestly say that I feel like a different person than on the 1st of January. I have more energy and am excited about all the things I have going on. I even felt the need to cut off all my hair (the old cliché of becoming a new person, without even realising it ;-)). It’s amazing what can happen when you genuinely care for yourself and put your needs first. I’ll be continuing in this way and will be writing more about self-care and my experiences, as well as running more challenges and other programmes which I’ll keep you posted on.

Thanks so much for reading. Have a wonderful week.

Need some more self-care in your life? Please check out my seasonal self-care challenges.

Photo by Evelyn on Unsplash