3 Ways to Enhance Your Self Care (Without Doing More)

Sometimes maintaining a healthy lifestyle can feel overwhelming. You need to exercise, stretch, meditate, visualize, sauna, cold plunge, breathwork, red light therapy, eat this, avoid that, find time to go outside, get your steps in AND make sure you’re getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night?!?

I have found that when I am trying to do too many things because I feel like I “should” do them I end up going through the motions of each activity just so that I can check it off my to-do list, rather than really soaking up the benefits of what I’m doing.

I want to touch on 3 concepts that have helped me simplify my routines and allowed me to live a healthy lifestyle with more ease.

1. Intention The first is intention. Whenever you are engaging in an activity, it is helpful to take a moment to connect to why you are doing it and what you are hoping to gain from it.

For example, I used to work with an amazing theta healer, Shanti. During a session one time I shared my concern that meditation “wasn’t working for me”. I told her that I would often sit down to meditate and feel like I was just waiting for the timer to ding so I could get up and carry on with my day. She asked me a very simple, and extremely impactful question. She asked me, “why do you meditate?”. I told her I meditated because I knew it was supposed to be good for me. Because I knew it was supposed to help me feel more calm and less stressed and more centered and…. As I spoke I realized the power of her question. I was just going through the motions of “meditation” without really engaging in what I was doing. I had no intention behind my action. Since then I make it a point to always start my mediations by calling all of my energy & attention back to my body, and silently setting the intention to be present with myself.

The purpose of intention is to bring your energy to the present moment and direct that energy towards what you are doing, and why, so that you can cultivate the experience you desire. Even if you only get 5 minutes of self-care in a day, if they are 5 minutes of fully engaged, fully present, totally intentional, it will make a difference in your life.

2. Non-Negotiables & Sacred Rituals The next concept is one that my life coach Dani Kenney taught me years ago. During a particularly stressful time in my life I was finding it impossible to keep up with all of life’s demands. As a result I would reach the end of the day feeling depleted and discouraged.

Dani had me write out two lists, one called “Non-Negotiables” and one called “Sacred Rituals”. For each of these lists the activities were broken down into daily, weekly and monthly activites. The Non-Negotiables pertain to work and the Sacred Rituals are self-care activities. The idea is that you write down the bare minimum things you want to commit to, so even on your hardest days you have a few things that you can focus on.

I won’t share my work Non-Negotiables, but for my Sacred Rituals list I included at least 10 minutes of journaling and 10 minutes of meditation daily. My weekly Sacred Rituals list includes yoga, getting adjusted and doing a breathwork practice. My monthly Sacred Rituals list includes giving myself unstructured time to relax or play and taking a bath.

I found that honing in on just a few activities that I feel are the most attainable and impactful helps me feel less scattered and gives me a place to start when I am feeling overwhelmed. Then when I am feeling more expansive I can add on other activities from a place of overflow and enthusiasm, not a place of forcing or lack.

3. Showing up The last concept I want to touch on is the idea of showing up for yourself. The simple act of just doing something for you, because you said you would, is powerful. The more we consistently show up for ourselves by making healthy decisions the more we build self trust. When you show up for yourself again and again you are proving to yourself that you can trust you. And when you trust yourself, your whole life improves.

I know from experience that when you stay committed to a practice or routine, not because someone told you you “should” but because you know deep down that it helps you be a better version of you, you start to feel supported, respected and loved, by YOU! And there is nothing more important than that.

I have developed a habit of saying “thank you” to myself after every yoga class, every meditation, every time I show up for myself. Because at the end of the day no one can make your life decisions for you. You are the creator of your life. You are the author of your story. Take responsibility and show up for yourself every day ❤️