5 Simple Self-Care Practices for Valentine's Day

5 Simple Self-Care Practices for Valentine's Day

5th February 2020 11:13 AM

Author: Franca Hood

You can take better care of yourself any day of the year, with these simple, tools and techniques.

1) Set Your Intentions...

As soon as you get up in the morning, give yourself a positive message.  Your mind is listening to you all the time, and all too often, we speak to ourselves in a negative manner, or we start and end our day by listing our worries and woes.  Try one (or both) of these instead...

"Today is a great day"

This is very short, simple and easy to remember.  Always speak in the present tense, because your subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between past, present and future.  It believes that everything is in the 'now.'

"Wonderful things happen for me today"

Expect great things - what have you got to lose?!  A great way to do this is to look in the mirror as you say the things.  Look yourself straight in the eye, and say it like you mean it.  And smile!

2) Stretch...

This may sound simple, but your body has just been sleeping and might be a bit tight!  Give it a boost by doing some gentle yoga stretches to wake it up a little.  Try clasping your hands high above your head, forefingers pointing towards the ceiling, and doing some gentle stretches; reaching up, before gently stretching from the waist, side to side.  Then look up towards your thumbs, and draw a line along the ceiling as you lean very slightly backwards.  Obviously, please only do these things if you are physically able.  Take a look at some yoga tutorials on YouTube if you need some ideas to wake up your spine.

3) Consider what you are putting into your body...

Very often, we rush about in the morning, either not eating at all, or cramming in a piece of toast as we dash out the door.  Some people can't function before their first cup of tea or coffee, but you will be doing yourself a favour if you can limit the amount of caffeine you put into your system, and try and limit it to the morning, as caffeine is a stimulant, and might affect your sleep if you take caffeine drinks later in the day.

If you can eat some fruit or porridge in the morning, it will give your metabolism a kick start, and since porridge is a slow release source of energy, it will keep you going a little bit longer, without the need to snack.

4) Spend a little less time with technology...

More and more people are doing a regular "Technology Detox" and it's such a good idea.  Not only are you wasting an extraordinary amount of time wading through social media, you're putting unnecessary strain on your neck and back as you look down at your phone or tablet, and you're missing out on so much of what is going on around you. 

Many of us are addicted to our phones.  Try and take an hour or so without it, or just a few minutes at first, building up gradually.  And at bedtime, don't charge your phone next to your bed.  In fact, keep it out of the bedroom altogether, and if you use it as an alarm to wake you up in the morning, do something different, perhaps use the alarm clock you used before you had a mobile phone.  You'll find that you sleep better!

5)  Spend a little more quiet time with the most important person in your life... You!

Have you ever considered that the only person who is with you all the time, through thick and thin...is you?  You are the centre of your world and you experience every thought, every feeling and every emotion first hand, and for some of you, that's an astonishing 60,000 - 80,000 throughts a day!  We all have an emotional compass, and it's incredibly accurate.  Yet how much time do you spend quietly with yourself, attending to your own needs - paying attention to that compass?   You spend so much time 'doing' yet so little time 'being.'  Try and have a little bit of silence each day, and just... be.  After all, you are a human being, not a human doing! 

This Valentine's Day, and every day, love yourself!

Namaste, Franca.

 

Franca is an experienced Hypnotherapist, Counsellor and Mind Coach with a broad range of expertise; specialising in Anxiety, Sexual Issues and Fertility Issues.  See her website for more details.

Tags: self care, wellbeing

Treatments: Counselling, Hypnotherapy

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The views expressed in these blogs are those of the blog authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Bridge Centre for Natural Health.