Last week, in The Change Interviews, we talked about how emotions are related to food, and how we usually don’t take it into account.
Today I would like to share with you something that works a lot for me: self-care, something that we often forget because we are so caught up in routine, family, etc., that we completely neglect ourselves.
And it is very difficult to love when we do not love ourselves. This is the list I always make: first me, then me, a little later me, and then others. Although it may seem selfish, it is not at all! Practicing self-care is not only good for us, but it is also good for others. The more you love yourself, the more love you will give.
For me, the most effective thing is to spend quality time with myself and treat myself very well. Here are some examples of the things I do, and I would love for you to tell me in the comments about the things you do to take care of yourself.
MEDITATE
When I want to take care of myself the most, I always turn to meditation. For me, it is the best quality time you can share with yourself, where you can practice mindfulness and connect with your body.
If you think it will be difficult for you to adopt this habit on your own, you can sign up for classes or download an app for guided meditations.
I love Calm, but be careful, it is paid! But it is cool because it has meditations in Spanish and different topics to cover, and at the beginning, you get a few free days in case you want to try it out.
If you want some free ones, I like RelaxMeditation. It has a ton of ambient sounds that help you unwind, but the meditations are in English. I use it mostly for the sounds.
DRAW OR COLOR
This depends on what you are like. For example, Ivan likes drawing more, and he relaxes and abstracts a lot by drawing in black and white, just with pencil and paper, he has had fun for a long time. I must also say that he draws very well 🙂
I, on the other hand, like coloring more. Especially coloring mandalas, because I love mechanical movements that help me concentrate a lot.
There are plenty of books for this, just choose the theme you like the most. I chose cats, hehehehe… I love to use colors and flow with the drawing.
COOK
Well, you probably already know this, but cooking for yourself is a huge act of love.
And within this, another of the things that for me is like meditating is cutting.
When my head is about to explode (it happens a lot), I go to the kitchen and make myself a minestrone. Why minestrone? Because it is a vegetable soup that you have to cut super small and I love that… Back to repetitive mechanisms! I can spend hours cutting all the vegetables into mini sizes, it relaxes me like crazy 😉
And finally, eating. I have dishes that connect me a lot with my self-love. I call those dishes hugs from within. Because external hugs are great, but internal hugs… thaveto be counted!
For me, those inner hugs are mainly soups, creams, and infusions. Here I leave you my best creams, although I actually like them all! As for soups, this one is ideal; and as for infusions, I love chai, curcuma latte, and pink latte.
BEAUTY ROUTINE
My favorite routine is a facial routine, especially a cleansing routine and a mask to nourish my skin, which also deserves it. Eating well also indeed nourishes it, but it feels so good to take that time, and even more so when the products are natural and you make them yourself.
WALKING IN NATURE
I don’t know if you know, but I spent my first years of life in the countryside. During the school year, I studied at a free school that was in the countryside, and I spent hours observing bugs and flowers. And then, in the summer we spent it on the farm with the family surrounded by fruit trees.
So when I need to connect with my essence and my inner child, just being surrounded by nature is the bomb. It often happens to me that if I’m out walking and I enter a park, within a few minutes my mood has changed completely. It’s automatic, the feeling is like being at home.
I always recommend nature as one of the first options, or even do a mixed experience: Prepare something delicious and go to the countryside, and take advantage of it to meditate… There you won’t need any app with relaxing sounds 😉
WRITE
But don’t write for people to read you, write for yourself. To get rid of all the noise in your head that doesn’t let you move forward. The book “The Artist’s Way” recommends that, as soon as you wake up, you write four pages of whatever you want in a notebook, it doesn’t matter what you write, just let it flow and do it every day. This will make your creativity flourish! It also helps me to vent my thoughts so that I can focus on my day and leave the thoughts that don’t help me in the notebook.
READ
Here I want to point out that it is not worth reading things to learn, which is what happens to me every time I read. I have a lot of books on personal development, nutrition, etc… I am referring to books that you enjoy.
I hope you give yourself over to it, whatever the subject, but something to enjoy the plot and the story. These are indeed the ones I read the least because I love books of knowledge, but when I want to dedicate some quality time to myself, I read a good novel.
CRAFTS
I’ve already talked about drawing or coloring, but I also love making ceramics.
I usually do modeling and lathe work. Modeling is more social for me: making plates, churros, or sanding when you talk to your colleagues is the best… But lathe work requires maximum concentration because if you are distracted for the slightest moment you have to throw away the piece. That is to say, if your head is full of things or you are distracted, you will never get a piece.
Another thing I like the most and that I learned last year is to crochet. We are going back to the repetition, which for me is essential to connect and concentrate. I remember that last year, the best work meetings (the ones where I was most focused for a long time) were making a crochet blanket.
