But really, what is self-care?
“Self-care is freedom and doing the things looming over your head that you don’t want to do.” – Hey Girl podcast Episode 16: Dana on Self Awareness through Yoga
I was listening to the Hey Girl podcast and this line resonated with me. When the buzz word version of self-care flies around, I think about getting a mani/pedi or a massage. I think about doing something luxurious and, at times, a bit pricey. But really, self-care is about handling your basic needs and not letting your quality of life fall to the wayside.
I have to admit, sacrificing self-care happens to me pretty quickly when it comes to my home. If my week has been busy, I see it right when I walk through the door. At the end of the day I’m tired, I don’t want to do dishes, I don’t want to pick up after myself. I think to myself: I can get to it over the weekend. But why do I choose to do this? I have a KonMari tidied home. I know I can straighten it up in 20 minutes. 30 minutes if it’s really bad. For some reason, I choose to say to myself “your happiness is not worth the 20 minutes.” I’d rather watch Netflix/browse Instagram/scroll through Facebook etc, more or less spend time doing things that aren’t serving me in a loving way.
After listening to this podcast, I see self-care as:
- Cleaning my kitchen
- Straightening up my apartment
- Doing laundry AND folding and putting it away
- Getting on my yoga mat
- Doing a strength workout (usually at the gym, but sometimes at home)
- Taking Henry to the dog park
- Journaling
- Preparing meals for the week
- Reading before bed
What does self-care look like for you?
