Is it time to recommit to yourself?
Self-care as a foundation for more when you have chronic symptoms (or want to prevent them)
(Photo from Unsplash)
February can mean different things to different people. The end of winter in sight as flowers prick up. New year intentions in steady motion or perhaps in need of resurrection. The month of Love.
Of late I've been reflecting on self-love and the commitments we make to ourselves as the basis for all other forms of love or action we can take in this world…
Self-love is more than a trend, it's a deep truth and an essential life-hack.
We can't pour from an empty cup. Unless we care for ourselves consistently we can't give to others sustainably.
Our relationship with ourself forms the template for our relationships with others, it is also reflected in how we go about things.
Example: Do you push yourself to do more denying yourself sufficient rest? Do you lose yourself in others' needs minimising your own? What might this be telling you about your relationship with yourself?
We need healthy acknowledgment of and care and commitment towards our struggles and our needs. I see the pattern again and again. We get excited and distracted by projects, social engagements or caught up in others' needs but we lack a foundation of attending to our own. The result all too often is burnout and chronic illness.
Self love is an action, it's shown in the unrelenting daily or weekly commitments we make to caring for ourselves and keeping ourselves well- physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. These commitments may vary from person to person, but the intention is clear: to be there for yourself unconditionally, to strengthen the muscle of commitment to your wellbeing.
It takes some awareness, it takes some focus, it takes creating some stillness and calm space for yourself - not always easy in a hectic life.
What does committing to yourself mean and look like for you?
What strengthens and centres you?
What habits would you like to put in place?
What would it feel like to honour and keep promises to yourself and to build a solid foundation of self-caring habits? (regardless of what you have or haven't achieved?)
What would focussing on this for a while change in your life?
My Meditation and Self-Care circles can support you with exactly this, it offers a healing space to unplug and be with yourself, this is an act of self-care.
Self-care Habits:
At a basic level, this can mean a healthy diet, exercise, sleeping enough. On a deeper level it can mean routines and practices that tell you you're important, that bring self-knowledge and create a healthy relationship with yourself; things like journalling, positive affirmations or meditation.
What self-care habit are you going to relentlessly commit to?
“Go back and take care of yourself. Your body needs you. Your feelings need you. Your perceptions need you. Your suffering needs you to acknowledge it. Go home and be there for all these things.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh