Many people misunderstand self-care. They think they don’t deserve or need it. Some think they have to earn it. Others think it is optional, requires a lot of time and money, and will cause them to be labeled selfish because they have chosen to care for themselves instead of caring for others.
Self-care is the act of nurturing your spirit, heart, mind, body, breath, and life in ways that uplift you. Self-care allows you to tap into your inner mother for nurturing. Self-care makes you strong not weak. Self-care is absolutely free and accessible to you 24 hours a day because it begins with your breath.
Stop right now where you are and breathe deeply. Make your breath your BFF with one to seven deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. Notice how your breath and body feel. Guess what? You just experienced a moment of self-care that did not cost you any money and took very little time.
Self-care looks different in each person’s life, career, and business. Check out the self-care examples below. Try one or several. Leave a comment about how the practice felt and impacted your life.
- Self-care is breathing deeply 1–3 times before you start and end your day.
- Self-care is closing your eyes and being still right where you are for a few minutes.
- Self-care is listening to your spirit, heart, mind, and body.
- Self-care is resting.
- Self-care is taking a short or long nap.
- Self-care is choosing to sleep in when the body needs it.
- Self-care is unplugging from digital devices.
- Self-care is having a chill out day, week, weekend, month, or year to slow down and go with the flow.
- Self-care is being quiet.
- Self-care is listening to soothing music.
- Self-care is reading anything that inspires, comforts, encourages, motivates, informs, and makes you feel good or laugh.
- Self-care is laughing.
- Self-care is being honest with yourself about what you can and cannot be and do given your current state of spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, creative, and financial well-being.
- Self-care is telling yourself it is okay not to know what to say or do next.
- Self-care is tapping into, trusting, and following your intuition.
- Self-care is acknowledging how you really feel no matter what emotion it is.
- Self-care is screaming into a pillow or yelling in your room to release whatever you need to release.
- Self-care is calling someone you trust and venting, cussing, and expressing your raw emotions.
- Self-care is giving yourself permission and space to not have it all together every day.
- Self-care is asking for and receiving HELP.
- Self-care is seeking support from a therapist, a mental health professional, a life coach or an accountability partner.
- Self-care is setting an intention on how you want to show up in your life, career, business, and community each day.
- Self-care is creating boundaries around how you use your time each day.
- Self-care is saying NO to things and experiences you really don’t have the energy to do.
- Self-care is releasing thoughts, beliefs, habits, behaviors, and relationships that no longer serve your highest good.
- Self-care is welcoming new thoughts, beliefs, practices, and relationships that uplift and support your growth.
- Self-care is giving yourself loving kindness and compassion.
- Self-care is releasing the need to criticize and judge yourself.
- Self-care is being patient with yourself.
- Self-care is forgiving yourself.
- Self-care is recognizing you are doing the best you can where you are.
- Self-care is spending time in prayer.
- Self-care is meditating.
- Self-care is saying affirmations.
- Self-care is practicing yoga, reiki, tapping, tai chi, mindful walking, and other mindfulness practices.
- Self-care is moving your body mindfully with exercise.
- Self-care is chanting mantras.
- Self-care is singing.
- Self-care is journaling.
- Self-care is making art.
- Self-care is coloring.
- Self-care is wearing your favorite colors.
- Self-care is sipping your favorite tea, coffee, or healthy beverage.
- Self-care is eating healthy.
- Self-care is spending time with family, friends, and neighbors who uplift and love you.
- Self-care is having meaningful conversations with people you like and love.
- Self-care is being grateful for all you are and have.
- Self-care is celebrating your personal and professional growth by acknowledging your small, medium, and big wins each day, week, month, and year.
- Self-care is taking one small step each day to nurture your spirit, heart, mind, body, breath, and life.
Self-care is also one of your superpowers for serving and supporting others in your life, career, and business, especially during intense times. When you take care of yourself first, you strengthen your capacity to show up in your life as a whole, healthy, and resilient person who is in a better position to serve and support loved ones, colleagues, clients, and members of your community.
At the Thriving Mindfully Academy (TMA), I help people just like you and mission-driven companies, organizations, and communities understand, accept, and claim self-care as a birthright. TMA uses the 4Bs of Self-Care as the foundation for virtual and in-person trainings, coaching, and resources.
The 4Bs of Self-Care include:
- Self-care is a BIRTHRIGHT.
- Self-care is a BELIEF that you are worthy of it.
- Self-care is a way of BEING that takes practice, patience, and time because it is a process you can with small steps to make it come alive in your life.
- Self-care begins with the BREATH (which is FREE and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year).
RESOURCES: If you or your organization, company, and community need more self-care, mindfulness, and wellness resources, visit the Thriving Mindfully Academy here.
If you are new to mindfulness, self-care, and wellness or simply want to learn more about these areas, visit the Thriving Mindfully Academy’s resource pages below.
TRAINING, SPEAKING & COACHING: I help people just like you and mission-driven companies, organizations, and communities outsmart stress and burnout, reclaim and practice their birthrights of mindfulness and self-care, and create wellness in their life, career, business, and community service. My personal goal is to empower as many people as I can in my local and global communities with the education, training, and practices they can use to create their own health insurance plan with mindfulness, self-care, and wellness.
My services are offered virtually (via Zoom, Facebook Live, Google Meet, Skype, and FreeConferenceCall.com) and in-person. I offer trainings and one-on-one coaching sessions. I am available to speak at your next conference and event, and for digital, print, radio, and television interviews.
Interested in exploring how you might work with me this year?
Fill out my client intake survey here and then I’ll set up a free 20-minute consultation call with you. Once you complete the survey, I will follow up with an email.
For more information, contact me at ananda@anandaleeke.com.
ABOUT ME: My name is Ananda Leeke. I am an award-winning wellness professional, author, and artist. I discovered mindfulness, self-care, and wellness when my career as a lawyer, an investment banker, and a digital communications professional stressed me out, caused burnout, and did not produce the level of success I expected. During my healing journey, I studied and practiced meditation, yoga, reiki, journaling, art-making, and creative writing. They helped me develop self-care practices and become resilient. As a result, I became a certified yoga and mindfulness teacher, a reiki master practitioner, a sound healer, and an artist-in-residence for the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. Today, I share my gifts and expertise as the founder and Chief Mindfulness Officer of Ananda Leeke Consulting, a wellness company, and the Thriving Mindfully Academy, an online learning platform. Visit AnandaLeeke.com for more information. Follow @anandaleeke on social media.
ABOUT MY MINDFULNESS BOOKS: Check out my three mindfulness books here (available on Amazon). My books make great gifts for yourself and others.
- Love’s Troubadours, a yoga-inspired novel
- That Which Awakens Me, a mindful creativity memoir
- Digital Sisterhood, a mindful technology memoir
Ananda Leeke 