NIRVANA

Self-care is the art of loving yourself.

Self-care rituals are daily rituals that contribute to our physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional well-being. I believe that self-care is like caring for a plant. The more you nourish it, the more it will flourish. In doing so, self-care rituals can prevent us from feeling overwhelmed and helps us to stay grounded.

Every person’s self-care ritual will be different and unique according to his or her needs. This article guides you to design your own personalised self-care ritual. Do you currently have a self-care ritual?

Types of Self-Care

1. PHYSICAL

Physical self-care is one of the most fundamental types of self-care because we need to be healthy to take care of ourselves and other people. Without having a good health, we cannot be productive in our day-to-day life. Eating healthy, getting adequate amount of sleep, regular movement, and exercise all form part of physical self-care. Examples of physical self-care may include:

• Eating healthy food and consuming with moderation
• Taking multivitamins
• Getting 7-9 hours of sleep
• Rest when the body is demanding it
• Self-massage or abhyanga before going to sleep
• Daily walks
• Daily exercise like yoga, cycling, swimming, or other sports
• Spending time in nature

2. PSYCHOLOGICAL

Psychological self-care involves enhancing your cognitive capacities such as decision-making, critical thinking, information processing, memory, and adopting a growth mindset. Psychological self-care rituals can include:

• Learning a new hobby or learning new skills
• Reading to enhance knowledge and wisdom
• Practicing meditation and developing mindfulness
• Journaling
• Practicing gratefulness
• Screen-free time
• Doing something creative or challenging

3. EMOTIONAL

Emotional self-care involves becoming aware of your emotions and understanding them. In doing so, you will better understand your own self and your reactions. Examples of emotional self-care can include:

• Self-Reflection
• Communicating how you feel
• Asking help when you need it through a trusted friend, life coach, or therapist
• Meditation
• Setting healthy boundaries

4. SPIRITUAL

Spiritual Self-Care are rituals that bring you peace and harmony within your body,mind, and spirit. These rituals re-energize and rejuvenate your energy from within. In doing so, you achieve stability and inner peace. Spiritual Self-Care rituals can include:

• Yoga, breathwork, and meditation
• Spending time in nature
• Praying to the divine
• Reflect on your values and life purpose
• Help people around you or your community

5. SOCIAL

We, as human beings are social species which form part of our basic needs such as food and shelter. Through evolution we have been designed to support and rely on each other for survival. Examples of social self-care:

• Spending time with loved ones
• Making meaningful connections
• Interact with like-minded people
• Ask for help
• Help other people
• Remove toxic people
• Setting healthy boundaries

6. PROFESSIONAL

Professional self-care rituals can help prevent burnouts, enhance well-being in your work, and increase your productivity and job satisfaction. Professional self-care can involve:

• Organise your work through structured planning
• Maintaining boundaries and saying No when required
• Align with your work values and ethics
• Prioritise well-being by resting when tired and taking regular breaks
• Regular movement
• Schedule personal time to spend time with family
• Seek help when feeling overwhelmed

7. ENVIRONMENTAL

Environment self-care rituals have an impact on our well-being because our environment is where we spend most of our energy and time. Environmental self-care rituals may include:

• Maintaining a clean, tidy, and organised environment
• Declutter what no longer serves you
• Add your personal touch to your home or place of work
• Make new changes in your environment

8. FINANCIAL

Financial self-care is adopting a healthy relationship with money. Having a good financial self-care system brings peace of mind and eliminates unecessary stress and anxiety around money. Examples of financial self-care:

• Tracking personal expenses and adopting a budget
• Saving money every month
• Setting financial goals
• Manage or clear debts
• Avoid wasting money on unnecessary things
• Enhance knowledge with regards to finance

9. RECREATIONAL

Doing recreational self-care activities brings us joy and happiness. When was the last time that you did something that excites you and makes you feel alive?

• Do one activity that you love every day
• Plan a monthly activity that you love
• Create your bucket list
• Watch your favourite series or movie
• Enjoy your favourite beverage or food
• Take up a course that you always wanted to do

Designing Your Own Self-Care Ritual

Your self-care ritual will be according to your needs, priorities, and what works for you personally. Now that you know the different types of self-care, you can design and choose what feels aligned with you and your own values.

Start small but grow through consistency. For instance, even doing five minutes of meditation daily can have a very positive effect on the long-term.

Self-care doesn’t need to be expensive. Most of self-care rituals can be practiced for free.

Adopt a simple uncomplicated self-care ritual. The simpler, the easier it is to follow and don’t forget to have some fun.

You are now ready to design your own self-care ritual!

If you need any help, feel free to reach out.

Yashna Veera, Life Coach and Yoga & Meditation Practitioner