Sacred Self-care Practices to Help You Slow Down and Remember The Beautiful Person You Are

How do you practice self-care?

Life has given me a lot of challenges, sometimes it feels overwhelming and insurmountable. Sometimes a light clicks on, that sublime light to make you really feel hopeful though. If you treat yourself gently and with self-care you will hear a loving voice inside of yourself saying “See! You can do this. See! It will get better. See! You do have choices and you do have power”. Lean into that voice, it’s the timeless higher part of you that only wants the best for you.

DIY Face Mask

I have a great recipe for a face mask which includes bentonite clay, almond oil  banana, peppermint and coconut yogurt. This is so nourishing, cooling and soothing and literally rearranges my brain making me feel like a new person. I mix this in an iridescent phoenix bowl bought in Japan.

My vintage kimono

I have a summer kimono made of cotton (known as a yukata) that I put on and when I tie the belt it makes me feel so good like I’m in a cocoon. I feel beautiful, elegant and feminine in it. If I’ve been wearing trousers all week, when I lounge I want to feel like a beautiful princess.

My forest green fluffy jumper

Just one of those cheap ones made of an ultra soft plushy material. It’s a cheap material so I feel guilty I bought something that may be fast fashion but I keep everything until it’s falling apart and then  generally upcycle it or if it’s still ok I give it to the charity.

My oracle cards

Oracle cards are an indulgence and a laugh when times are good. They have a bit more gravity and meaning when times are challenging and they can provide mental clarity about issues in your life when you feel a bit lost or worried. A big proviso, not all oracle cards are the same. Some have incredible art and profound insights. Others are a bit meh. I’ve found two of the former in the past and reviewed them on this blog, here and here.

Playing my hang drum

I have a small metal drum in my favourite colour teal and this produces melodies and uplifting sounds when played. I take it to the beach nearby and play it on a blanket and watch the waves come in feel the force of energy from the ocean and sky on my body, the smell of the salt.

Grateful emotions

I list out all of the things I feel grateful for in my life, one by one inside my head. It could be internal qualities like resilience or emotional intelligence, it could be finding creative ways around and through difficulties. It could be external things like beautiful and kind friends or my irreplaceable, kind and amazing partner who I love so much. If things go wrong in an area of life, it’s always good to remind yourself of what’s going right and hug this to yourself like a beautiful shield and a talisman.

David Goggins’ cookie jar method

I didn’t read this book, the Polish Bear did but one insight really stuck. When you feel like you are broken and defeated in life, a technique can help you to get back up again. It’s to recall specific difficult situations in your life and how you overcame them. Write all of these down. Were you bullied, abused or abandoned? Write it down and how you found ways to cope with that. Make sure you highlight the internal qualities of strength you developed overcome it. Write it all down on pieces of paper and put it in a literal jar and seal it. Open it and read them all again when you feel down. This is wonderful and it WORKS. More about it here.

Goggins is a hardcore athlete and a bit full on intense for me but he’s very straight to the point and I like that, his method works for me.

To end I’d like to share one of my favourite series of words of all time.

Some days, stay up until dawn

As the moon sometimes does for the sun

Be a full bucket pulled up the dark way

Of a well, and then lifted out into light.

Something opens our wings. Something

Makes boredom and hurt dissappear

Someone fills the cup in front of us

We taste only sacredness.

-Rumi