self-love

What is Self-Care and Why Should You Practice It? | Nadia La Russa

What is Self-Care and Why Should You Practice It?

Let’s Talk About Self-Care

I want to preface this blog post by making it clear that self-care is not the same as self-indulgence, or being selfish. Self-care is all about taking care of yourself so you can be healthy, and stay well before doing anything else.

Self-care has been a topic of discussion everywhere and it’s rightfully so because now more than ever, we all need a bit of self-care.

Self-care is part of how we cope with daily stressors, and it’s about taking steps to focus on our physical and emotional health needs. It includes everything related to staying physically healthy – which includes exercising, taking care of our personal hygiene, nutrition, and seeking medical help when needed. These are all the steps we can take to manage the stressors in our lives and take care of ourselves for our own health and well-being.

Self-care requires checking in with yourself and asking how you’re doing mentally and physically. It’s about listening to your mind and your body and giving yourself the rest you need. Self-care is different for everyone – some use it to deal with difficult news and others use it to maintain their happiness day-to-day. Self-care is not the same for everyone, and everyone has their own way to practice self-care. 

Why Practice Self-Care? 

Practicing self-care regularly can help you put your best foot forward. When we take care of ourselves regularly, we react to things better and handle situations healthier. It’s a great way to maintain a positive well-being. 

Engaging in self-care regularly can reduce or even eliminate anxiety, depression, and stress. It can improve concentration, minimize work frustration and anger and improve energy and so much more. From practicing physical self-care, it can help to reduce heart disease and other physical conditions and illnesses. By paying attention to yourself and your well-being, you are reinvigorating yourself so you can be the best version of yourself.

Different Types of Self-Care

Emotional Self-Care 

Self-talk. You read that right, talk to yourself. Ask yourself what you need and then give yourself that emotional support. Have a bubble bath, make yourself your favourite meal, take yourself to get your nails done, or read a book for pleasure. Whatever it is, there’s nothing wrong with pampering yourself. 

Another way to show yourself emotional self-care is by practicing how to say “no” when you need to. If you feel yourself getting stressed from work or other responsibilities, saying no to taking on additional tasks will help you set boundaries for yourself, and give yourself permission to take a pause, and breathe when things are getting too much. When I start to feel overwhelmed, I choose to meet up with a good friend or set up a virtual coffee date to chat and unwind. 

Physical Self-Care 

Prioritize your sleep. Sleep is so important for your body so be sure to give yourself that much-needed rest. Another way to practice physical self-care is by exercising. Adopting an exercise routine that you can stick to can help you out so much! It can be as easy as taking a walk or going for a run, or doing yoga. Choosing a healthy diet, eating healthy and picking nourishing food over processed food can also help fuel your body and your mind.

Spiritual Self-Care 

Unplug and spend time in nature. Taking some time out of your day to meditate, or write in a gratitude journal are some other simple ways to practice spiritual self-care. 

How to Start a Self-Care Routine for Yourself

  • Figure out which activities make you happy, replenish your energy and restore your balance
  • Start small by picking one thing you want to incorporate into your daily routine
  • Slowly build up to practice that one self-care activity every day of the week and see how you feel
  • Add an additional practice when you’re ready
  • Be sure to get support from loved ones, a licensed professional, or a coach

A few ideas to help you begin your self-care journey

  • Journaling 
  • Start your day by doing some breath work
  • Eat breakfast 
  • Put your phone down for 30 minutes and don’t pay attention to any notifications
  • Have a bedtime routine and stick to it

Self-care doesn’t have to be difficult. If practiced regularly, self-care can have a really positive effect on your health, but it does require you to invest in yourself. So ask yourself, are you ready?

In Health and Wellness,

Nadia La Russa

Click here to learn about how to keep your work-life balance when you work from home.

Click here to learn about how kombucha can benefit your body.

How to forgive yourself

How to Forgive Yourself and Move On

Hey, you know what? We’re human, and we make mistakes. A lot! It’s a part of life. But regularly replaying slip-ups in your head, beating yourself up about them, and losing sleep over them – won’t make them go away!

Instead, what you’re doing, is building barriers of anger, pain and sadness around you, preventing you from moving on with your life.

Thankfully, there’s a remedy to bust through those barriers. But it can be a challenge (didn’t say this was going to be easy, but it’s definitely worth it!). Learning how to forgive yourself can help you let go of those negative feelings and bring peace into your world.

“Forgiving yourself and others will release you from the prison of the past. When you don’t flow freely with life in the present moment, it usually means that you’re holding on to a past moment. It can be regret, sadness, hurt, fear, guilt, blame, anger, resentment, or sometimes even a desire for revenge. Each one of these states comes from a space of unforgiveness, a refusal to let go and come in to the present moment. If you’re holding on to the past, you can’t be in the present.” Louise Hay on forgiveness.

You forgive others, but sometimes forget to forgive yourself. Denying yourself the grace and kindness of self-forgiveness could be prolonging unnecessary suffering, and hurting your confidence and self-worth.

How to forgive yourself and move on:

  1. Recognize what happened
    Write down in detail the thing you are having trouble forgiving yourself for. What happened? Who was involved? How did it make you feel? Are you or others still hurting from the incident?
  1. Grieve and processSad dog under blanket
    Allow yourself time to grieve the hurt associated with the event, and process any anger, pain or sadness.
  1. Remind yourself that you are still a good person
    Show yourself plenty of love and kindness as you remember that you are not perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. You are still a good person and worthy of forgiveness. (You could also try these positive affirmations.)
  1. Let go
    Give yourself permission to let go of negative feelings. Symbolically tear up or burn the paper on which you wrote your incident.
  1. Commit
    If guilt or painful memories sneak their way back into your head, remember that you have already forgiven yourself for this and committed to moving on. If you are still finding it challenging to forgive yourself, don’t be afraid to speak with a counselor.

Self-forgiveness is a powerful gift. You can’t change what has happened in the past, but you can make peace with it and move forward with good intentions for the future.

What can you forgive yourself for today?