You’ve likely heard the term “Self Care” a lot in the last few years because it’s certainly a buzz word. And I’m curious, do you love it or hate it?

For me, while I used to use it fairly often (which, if you’ve been in my newsletter and/or working with me for a while now, I’m sure you noticed), lately I feel it’s lost its weight and meaning. I keep flip-flopping over whether I still like the term or not. It’s become over used and I’ve found the term often leads to people feeling overwhelmed, stressed and as though they are inadequate in some way because they don’t have time to fit in Self Care. Which seems pretty ridiculous when the whole original idea was about taking care of ourselves to feel good.

My loss of favor towards the term Self Care doesn’t mean I think we shouldn’t continue to explore ways that help us lighten our load, feel more joyful and more at ease with ourselves. Because I do believe that that is important. But how we do that needs to be on our own terms.

To me the idea of self care has always been doing things that meet us where we are at and support us in the moment. So if you’re crazy busy with lots of things demanding your attention, it may not be the best idea to sign up to do 5 hours of restorative yoga a week. While, no doubt those 5 hours of restorative yoga would feel divine, they might also make you feel even more stressed-out because you don’t have time to dedicate to other things in your life. Or you may not go to even one of those five hours, because just the thought of it makes you feel overwhelmed.

We have to meet ourselves where we are at in the present moment. Even if that means we only take a minute here and there to check-in with ourselves.

Regardless if you and I agree or disagree about what the term Self Care means, I hope that this serves as a reminder to find ways to fill up your cup & take care of yourself in a way that suits you best, because that’s really what it comes down to. No matter what you call it, I hope you’re able to identify things in your life that help you recharge.

I think we can all agree with the following quote: 

“I mean, how many times have you thought your computer or phone was a goner but you shut it down for a few minutes and turned it back on and it was completely fine again. It’s proof, we need to unplug to recharge sometimes.”

If you’re looking for ways to recharge, here are some ideas for you to explore: 

• What did you do as a kid that was true fun?
• Is there something new you want to try and how can you go about doing it?
• Move my body! (In anyway that feels good to you, a walk, a swim, a boogie in the kitchen while cooking...)

Maybe take a moment now to grab a piece of paper or start a new note in your phone. Set a timer for 5 minutes or so and write down whatever you can think of in that time.

Then see if you can find even 5-10 minutes to try it out. You might be surprised how much it changes your day.

Psst. Only have one minute to spend on yourself right now? That's okay! Here's a quick 1 Minute Movement Break & Shoulder Release.

Check out all the other ways to work with me!