I had an eye opening conversation with my yoga teacher, Patricia Amado this week. Yesterday I overslept and missed class, so I reached out to her and let her know what happened. This was not the first time this happened; I go through phases of doing well with my practice: going to class everyday, being on time, and being fully present for a few weeks. But then eventually I start making excusing, eventually oversleeping missing class a few days in a row. This has been my pattern since joining her Mysore room last spring.

Having watched this pattern, she asked me a simple question: how am I going to make effective change to apply what I am observing in myself through the practice? This single comment sparked a realization that while I try to be consistent, I need to be better at my own self care so I don't essentially burn the candle at both ends. I need to practice better and more balanced self care! Doing yoga and meditating is not enough. I need more balance: get to bed earlier, learn to say no once in awhile, set those boundaries so I can stay consistent with my yoga and meditation practice, so I can have the insights into myself and grow as a person and stop repeating old patterns! She is like the lighthouse showing me the way through the rough seas of my mind!

This single insight, lead me to our blog post for the week, the 7 pillars of self care.

One thing that I realized was that self care is more than just going to the gym, eating right, and meditating for 5 minutes. If we are really going to take care of ourselves, we need to address self care in a well rounded way, meaning we need forms of self care that touch not only on the physical, but also our intellectual mind, emotional, social, and spiritual.

When you really think about it, making sure we are taking care of ourselves in a well rounded way makes a lot of sense. Sure, we can get up early and make sure we go to the gym, take a walk, etc., but have you ever found that while just doing this one activity, while beneficial, leaves you needing more? And then, because we aren’t addressing the whole self, we decide well this isn’t working for me, so we stop going. We wind up reverting back to our old patterns and continue to burn the candle at both ends. Or at least that’s true for me and many of my cohorts who are also first responders. Hopefully, everyone else has already picked up on this idea of self care, and it’s just me!

What is self care anyways?

So what is self care anyways? We hear a lot about it, and if you are like me you have a general understand of what the health magazines are talking about, but what is it really?

Self care - activities and practices we engage in on a regular basis to reduce stress and enhance our well-being

What is important to note is the word regular; the practice of self care, for it to be effective, needs to be something that we practice often. Not when the pressures of our never ending to do list start to weigh on us, but often. Maybe that is something you practice daily; maybe it’s weekly. Whatever it is, it should be on a regular schedule, finding time in your day or week to practice to help you feel comfortable and relaxed, and reduce the pressure of our modern life.

Another important thing to note is that self care will look different for each of us. For some of you it may be going to get your nails done, taking a bath/going in the hot tub, or it may be making time to be creative and painting, writing, or making something with your hands, and for others it may be doing a physical activity, like practicing yoga, running, riding a bike, or going for a hike. There are endless possibilities for your self care practice, but one way to find what works for you is to look at self care through the different lenses so you can find a well-rounded approach for your own practice.

The 7 Pillars of Self Care

The seven core principles of self-care work together to bring a sense of wholeness to your life. Seven might sound like a lot, but once you know them, you can better recognize what needs work in your life instead of trying to do everything. And in some instances you can cover more than one pillar with one form of self care!

The pillars of self-care:

Mental
Emotional
Physical
Environmental
Spiritual
Recreational
Social

How to Use Them

Seeing this list might feel overwhelming. You might think you have to find some kind of perfect balance between them all. You don’t need to focus on finding a perfect balance between them all. Instead, you might need to focus on one area for a day, a week, maybe even a month. When you’re ready, you can focus on others.

What’s most important is noticing which one area needs attention so that it doesn’t start dragging the other areas down with it. Let’s explore the pillars of self-care in more detail:

Mental Self Care

Mental/intellectual self-care is about cultivating a healthy mindset through mindfulness and curiosity. Mental self-care is important for developing a healthy mindset, growing your skills, reducing stress, and enhancing your knowledge and creativity. The desire to learn new concepts and expand your knowledge contributes positively to your overall well-being. Mental self-care is about finding the balance between stimulating your mind and giving your mind a break, and this can help with creativity, innovation, and continual learning.

Mental self-care ideas:

Meditating
Reading a book
Writing in a journal
Engaging your brain in a new way
Listening to music
Writing a brain dump list
Taking an intentional break away from technology/internet

Emotional Self Care

Emotional self-care involves taking care of matters of the heart with healthy coping strategies and self-compassion. Tapping into emotional self-care helps you understand yourself more, better deal with challenges and setbacks, and develop healthy emotional responses.

Emotional self-care ideas

Watching a deep movie
Listening to your favorite songs
Writing down positive affirmations
Journaling
Diffusing essential oils
Asking for help when you need it
Talking to a therapist or counselor
Setting boundaries to protect your time and energy - saying no

Physical Self Care

Physical self-care involves taking care of your body with exercise, nutrition, good hygiene, and proper sleep. When you practice activities for your physical well-being, you can increase your energy levels and boost your self-esteem.

Physical self-care ideas:

Eating nourishing foods
Trying a new workout
Dancing around the room
Drinking more water
Taking vitamins daily
Getting 7-8 hours of sleep
Taking an Epsom bath or long shower
Trying a new workout class or video
Laughing out loud

Environmental Self Care

Environmental self-care involves taking care of the spaces and places around you. The more you take care of your immediate environment, the more it will help you to thrive and feel a sense of belonging where you are.

Environmental self-care ideas:

Arranging your workspace to be more comfortable
Exploring somewhere new (even if it’s in your own town)
Decluttering your living space
Going outside for a walk
Appealing to your five senses (e.g. light a candle, adjust the lighting, put on comfortable clothes, sip a warm drink, and put on your favorite playlist)

Spiritual Self Care

Spiritual self-care involves taking care of your soul through activities or practices that provide a sense of purpose, direction, or meaning to your life. Dedicating time to spiritual self-care can help you find more meaning in life, feel more grounded, and develop a sense of belonging in life.

Spiritual self-care ideas:

Spending time in nature
Taking a class and expanding your knowledge on a cause or topic that is meaningful to you
Identifying your values & what’s meaningful to you
Volunteering or contributing to a cause you believe in
Connecting to a higher power (whatever that means to you)
Taking a yoga class
Meditation
Practicing mindfulness

Recreational Self Care

Recreational self-care involves taking care of your inner child with hobbies, fun activities, and new experiences. Recreation is important because it lets you get away from the pressure of your to-do list and simply enjoy the pleasures that life has to offer.

Recreational self-care ideas:

Taking time for hobbies and creative activities
Going on an adventure by yourself or with others
Taking time to do absolutely nothing (and enjoying it!)
Playing board or video games
Switching up your regular daily routine
Trying new things

Social Self Care

Even though self-care is about you, it’s important to connect with other human beings on a regular basis. Social self-care means cultivating healthy relationships and connecting with people who get you. Seeking out positive social connections helps us create a sense of belonging and acceptance.

Social self-care examples:

Spending time with people whose company you enjoy
Going on a walk or hike with friends
Joining a book club
Calling or seeing your relatives
Writing a letter to a friend (pen-pal style!)
Talking to a support group
Finding a community to contribute to (online or offline)

Putting It Into Practice

Now that you’ve learned all about the dimensions of self-care, think about how you might start to incorporate them into your regular routine. You can see that some of these activities even cover more than one pillar! Just think about what you would find fun or relaxing and make a conscious effort to do more of it!

What self care practices will you try? Let me know I’d love to hear about it!

7 Pillars of Self Care