Your New Super Sneaky Self-Care List

As 2016 winds to a close I’ve been thinking a lot about the foundations of holistic health and work/life/all the things “balance.”

 

What I am noticing is that self-care seems to be the most important foundational piece of many areas of my life, but also the one that I tend to skimp on and beat myself up about the most.

 

As such I’ve been consciously choosing to expand my understanding of self-care and my relationship to it. We can’t change problems that we don’t see and we can’t see what don’t look at.

 

That being said, I think it’s also important to make it a fun and exciting process rather than a heavy one. So, I’ve created a sneaky self-care idea guide based on the chakra system!

 

I invite you to look through this list of sneaky self-care ideas and see what resonates with you. Add what sounds great to your 2017 self-care plan (or even better yet, start now) and leave the rest. Enjoy!

 

1st Chakra: Roots, Grounding, Nourishment, Trust, Health, Home, Family, Prosperity, Appropriate Boundaries.

 

  • Get into nature. Literally connect to the Earth. Do this however feels great to you. Garden. Go to the beach or take a hike. Eat more root vegetables.

 

  • Look at your relationship to food. How healthy is it? Do you eat good food and feel good about yourself before, during, and after eating? Do you eat a variety of foods with ease and enjoyment or do you stick to your safety foods?

 

  • Get clear on your trust issues. Start with yourself. Do you trust your body? Do you trust your mind? Are you tapped in to your intuition? From there, go out. Who, outside of yourself do you trust? How can you appropriately deepen your trust in people deserving of it? How can you become more trust worthy?

 

  • Check your health. Find a Doctor or healthcare professional that you trust (see how all of this is connected…) and get a check-up. When was the last time that you were checked for STDs or went to the dentist? Acupuncture is one of my favorite ways to check in with my health and it feels like yummy self-care at the same time. *If you are in Charleston, SC I highly recommend connecting with my dear friend and acupuncturist Polly Christy.)

 

  • Clean your house. Taking cleaning and organizing my house off of the “annoying adult things I have to-do” list and moving it to the “self-care” list has created a massive shift in my perception and experience. (Read more about this here.)

 

  • Connect with your family. Make family time sacred. Maybe this is with your biological family or maybe it’s with your friend/family, regardless spend quality time with them. If you have struggles with your biological family, try looking into ways to heal old wounds and carve out a path to a health future. This may mean shifting boundaries, but it may mean cutting ties. Your path is yours.

 

 

  • Manage your money, honey. This is the 1st chakra issue that I continue to struggle with more than any other. This year I have made progress by working with a personal financial planner and getting more honest with myself about my money wounds, beliefs, and behaviors. In 2017 I am going to start weekly money dates, in my office, before I leave work once a week. They will be scheduled in and non-negotiable. Flowers and chocolate may be involved as advised by one of my favorite money mentors Bari Tessler in her new book. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

 

 

2nd Chakra: Movement, Sensation, Emotions, Sexuality, Desire, Need, Pleasure

 

  • Get out of your head and into your body. Move your body in a way that feels great. If you hate going to the gym and have to force yourself to go, stop going. Walk, dance, hula hoop or go to yoga instead. If you love lifting weights, do it. Take walks, just because. Have dance parties in your kitchen before dinner, or even before breakfast. Early morning kitchen dance parties with my guys is one of my favorite ways to start the day. Find your favorite way to move, or a few favorites, and do more of it.

 

  • Explore your senses. We have senses for a reason. They are part of our human experience. Yes, sense withdraw is a yogic practice, but we can’t withdraw from something that we’re already disconnected from. Spend some time exploring and connecting with your senses.

 

  • Feel your feelings! This alone is a life changing practice and one that my clients tend to come to me struggling with more than anything. It can be difficult at first, but feeling our feelings and taking inspired action from a grounded place can be hugely transformative. If you need help or a safe space in which to practice call a coach or therapist. Feel free to call me. I’m happy to help and have started booking in person and over the phone/Skype clients for the new year.

 

  • Explore your sexuality. If you have partner, make this a team effort as well as an individual one. If you’re single explore solo. This may mean have more sex, but it could also mean exploring how you feel about sex, what you feel like having sex “means,” or how comfortable (or not) you are feeling sexy. Perhaps have some boudoir photos taken or explore lingerie. Check out the lovely Evelyn Devere for inspiration.

 

 

  • Get clear on your desires. Sexually, but also in all of life. What do you want? What’s standing in your way of feeling like you deserve it? One of my favorite ways of getting in touch with my desires is working through the exercises laid out in Danielle Laporte’s Desire Map. My friend Katie Wilkin is a Desire Map facilitator and would make an excellent guide through this process. (She also makes amazing intentional jewelry.)

 

  • Get what you need. What do you need to feel like your best self? You can’t give from a place of lack or overwhelm, so stop trying. Fill your cup first.

 

  • Find pleasure all around. This practice has been huge for me. It really makes a big difference. How can you infuse pleasure into your routine activities? Right now, as I type, I have beautiful candles burning, I’m wearing a skirt that I love, I’m brewing a wonderful cup of tea, and I’m deeply aware that for me “working” is a truly pleasurable experience and I feel super lucky that it is so. Big pleasure can be found in little things.

 

3rd Chakra: Energy, Activity, Autonomy, Individuation, Will, Self-esteem, Proactivity, Power

 

  • Take some risks! If you’re feeling low or depleted in this area taking some risks could help bolster your energy, autonomy, self-esteem, will and individuation. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? If that seems too big, start with a risk that feels doable and do it!

 

  • Chill out. If you’re feeling too high strung or frenetic chill out. Take some time to relax. Get a massage, take a restorative yoga class, sit down and enjoy a cup of tea. *Pro tip: If you are feeling this way and the idea of “relaxing” stresses you out more or seems impossible move your body first. Take a flow yoga class followed by a restorative class. Take a run before you chill with tea. Take a long walk before your massage.

 

  • Move it like you mean it. Up the vigorousness of your physical activity. Get your blood pumping and your body moving.

 

  • Amp up your self-esteem. Seek help if needed. You sense of self is super important, so don’t skimp here. How can you enjoy any area of your life to your fullest potential if you have low self-esteem? Call a coach or therapist or stock up on some tried and true self-help books.

 

4th Chakra: Love, Balance, Self-love, Relationship, Intimacy, Devotion, reaching out and taking in.

 

 

  • Get clear on your relationships. Where are you holding back from giving or receiving love? Are you feeling co-dependent or counter-dependent? My coach Aleka has a few amazing podcast episodes on these topics in her Relationships Series for her Holistic Health Hour podcast. I highly recommend listening to them.

 

  • Practice forgiveness for yourself and others. Clear up those old wounds!

 

5th Chakra: Communication, Creativity, Listening, Resonance, Find your voice.

 

  • Chant, chant, chant. Chanting is one of the most powerful ways to clear and balance your 5th I love chanting in Sanskrit, but if you’d rather start with English that is cool too. A great place to start is listening to a recording of a mantra and then singing along. I suggest Krishna Das, Manorama, and Jai Uttal to start. You can find them all on Spotify and Manorama has amazing courses if you’d like to dive more deeply into the study of Sanskrit.

 

  • Write in your journal. Sometimes it helps to tap into our inner voice in a silent way. I attribute many of my greatest insights to my journaling practice. Write often, or just when you feel like you need to. Keep a beautiful journal or write on the back of receipts and scrap paper…it doesn’t really matter, just write it out. Katie Dalebout has a great book, Let It Out, all about journaling that I recommend.

 

  • Share your story. Silence can be golden, but it can also keep us stuck and fuel shame and guilt. Find a safe space to share your story. Maybe that’s a storytellers group, a writers meet-up, a support group, or with a coach or therapist. Find what works for you.

 

  • Sing! If you’re not into chanting, sign whatever lights you up and feels like an expression of what you need to express. Many amazing people have recorded many amazing songs, surely one of them speaks to what you need to “say.” Find your song and belt it out.

 

  • Get quiet. Maybe what you need is to stop talking for a moment to tune into your intuition. Meditation can be an excellent way to practice silence. So can asking yourself the following before speaking: “Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it adding to the situation? Is it needed? Is it kind?” If the answers are “no” keep silent.

 

6th Chakra: Image, Intuition, Imagination, Visualization, Insight, Dreams, Vision

 

  • Get out your art supplies. Create art. Paint. Draw. Collage. Dive into one of the many new coloring books for adults.

 

  • Practice writing to your intuition. Jess Lively talks about this all the time and has some great info on how to do it here. (She has about a million other podcast episodes about connecting with your intuition as well, but that one’s a good place to start.)

 

  • Practice visualization meditation. This can be super powerful. Start by getting clear about what you want to visualize. Perhaps write down the essence of what you’re wanting to “see” and ultimately experience. Then, get silent and still and visualize it. Focus on your senses and take in the whole picture. Really get into a state where it feels like you are directing your own movie or dream. Get as detailed as possible. Have fun!

 

  • Dig into your dreams. Get a dream decoding book or work with a dream reader. Simply writing down your dreams can be an easy and powerful practice that leads to insight.

 

7th Chakra: Transcendence, Immanence, Belief Systems, Higher Power, Divinity, Union

 

  • Deepen your spiritual practice. If you have a religious or spiritual practice dive into it. Go a bit deeper.

 

  • Explore other spiritual or religious practices. I love learning about various spiritual and religious belief systems. It can be amazing to learn about the overlap and to adopt new ideas and practices as a result of your learning and/or direct experience.

 

  • As always, meditate! As if I haven’t mentioned it enough yet…meditate. It’s a game changer.

 

Whew! That’s a major list. And to think that once upon a time I thought self-care was all about taking long bubble baths and getting massages.

 

Now, I want to hear from you. What items on this list are you excited to put into your self-care routine or what other unexpected self-care practices do you have on your list?

 

Leave a comment below and let me know.

 

Much love,

Katie

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