At it’s most fundamental level self-care is about honoring the self. While the actions you take to carry out self-care affects your body and even your mind, self-care goes beyond such activities.
Here’s how self-care nurtures you from a higher level:
- Practicing self-care makes you acknowledge and honor yourself by giving your body and mind time and attention
- You become your own supporter and carer. It’s a way to build self-validation without depending on others
- And in a more practical way, you’re making yourself better by taking a break just as you would sharpen a saw to work more effectively
Starting your day with self-care activities will give you a great way to make your day fulfilling and productive. Here are some of the most powerful activities you can do in the morning to boost your entire day.
Wake up early
Anyone can develop the habit of waking up early. It’s trying at first if you don’t already have the habit, but once you’ve experienced the magic of a quiet morning, it’s motivation enough to start.
You’ find that there’s a stillness that is peaceful, not to mention, you’ll have an early start to your day. Rising early is your first step in your morning self-care routine.
Don’t use social media
Roughly 27% of people wake up in the morning and use social media the first thing. This is quite a harmful activity that sets your mood for the rest of the day. One of the findings of using social media is that a desire to not ‘miss out’ leads to least 39% of people feeling envy. Others say they’re jealous, sad, or disappointed and just 29% of people find that they are happy.
Part of self-care is to not do certain things as much as to do productive things. Consider your emotional and mental wellbeing and avoid social media in the morning.
Move your body to music
Exercising, Yoga and any kind of movement is the best thing you can do for your body. I suggest moving your body to music. It’s as simple as playing some light chill out music and moving any way you feel. If you need some guidance, check out Body Groove on social media for beautiful free-flowing dancing. Beginning your day with movement and music will help you get started on an energetic and light note, making you feel empowered.
Fifteen minutes with tea
This is best done when you’ve woken up early in the morning. If you wake up early enough, other people are asleep and the streets outside will be silent. Brew yourself a cup of green tea or some other beverage and just sit down in a comfortable place.
Spend a few minutes enjoying your hot drink, the silence of the moment, and the feeling of peace. When you start your day in a gently-paced manner, you’ll feel in control over your day.
Meditate
Yes, meditation seems like the answer to everything. But the reason is that it helps! When starting your day, it’s helpful to make your mind as uncluttered as possible. Let’s look at two ways you can meditate.
Breath focus
The easiest but also an incredibly effective way to meditate is to observe your breathing. Simply inhaling and observing the movement of air through different parts of your body forces you to be intensely present.
Thoughts don’t have the power to create chatter and you’re left with a feeling of release and readiness to start the day.
PQ reps
This meditation exercise comes from the book Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine.
He suggests that you do 100 ‘PQ reps’ throughout the day. A PQ or positive quotient rep, according to him, is where you spend ten seconds intensely focusing on the present.
You do this by observing your breath, feeling the pressure of your feet on the floor, wiggling your toes, or anything else that grounds you to the here and now.
Every ten seconds of focus forms a rep. And you can do 100 of these daily. In the mornings, try to do about ten of these to start your day feeling grounded.
Brighten your whole day – start with self-care
Your morning self-care routine holds a great deal of power. When you practice self-care, you reinforce self-respect and commitment to being your best self.
An effective time to practice this routine is when you’re about to begin your day. We often rush through the day trying to manage several things at once and losing focus. By prioritizing yourself at the beginning of a new day with the suggestions given here, you’re certain to feel empowered and move towards your goals with a steady determination.