Nourishing the Soul: The Magic of Self Care for a Better Life

“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself.
The challenge is to silence the mind.”
Caroline Myss 

Nourish your soul through intentional self-care because you are just as important as everyone else around you. Many of us do those little unintentional things every day where we sacrifice taking care of ourselves to care of others. Which is fine of course until you realize that at the end of the day, you aren’t nourishing yourself. You forget to eat but feed your kids, get less sleep to clean the house for your family, listen to someone vent and never get a word in edgewise, or help others get their tasks done while yours remain unfinished. This needs to stop though, it's time to quiet that inner voice in your mind and nourish your own soul. Your needs, your emotions, your spirit, and your wants are valid, but they will not become important until you take that step and make them so.

Take the time to nurture your soul, this will lead to a balance in your life along with a spiritual well-being that will allow you to rid yourself of negativity and provide more room for positivity. Essentially, if you practice intentional self-care, you can have a superior quality of life. Let me show you some ways to enact self-care techniques in your life.

Movement; get up and move your body, get a little exercise, or do an activity that you really enjoy but never take the time for. This could be dancing around your living room, jogging, or even hula hooping. Exercise releases endorphins which can lower depression, lessen stress, and just generally help your health.

Enjoy Nature; get out of the walls that you stare at every day and see what Mother Nature has to offer you. You can also use this time to ground yourself. Take your shoes off, feel the ground against your feet, breathe deeply, and let yourself settle into a calm state.

Practice mindfulness; this is focusing your attention on the now. No future worries or past negatives. This is usually done through meditation, yoga, or deep breathing. If you only have 5 minutes before your next task, take that five minutes and find your peace at the moment.

Eat for your body; this doesn’t just mean eating completely healthily. It means if you nourish your body it’s healthier thus enabling you to nurture your soul. Don't skip a meal simply because you need to do something else, don’t forget to eat because you’re focusing on others, and definitely do not deny yourself the sustenance your body needs to function. Take a minute and find something you’ll enjoy and that will provide nutrients to get you through your day.

Self-Reflection; write in a journal, and speak to the higher power you believe in be it a god or mother nature. Reflect on the gifts you’ve been given. Remember the joy over the bad.

Take a break; get away from everything that is causing you stress. Whether it’s two minutes or four hours, take it. Use it to do something you enjoy. Read a book, take a nap, watch a favorite show, or even just sit and enjoy the silence. Don’t feel guilty, you deserve that break so take it.

As adults, we are expected to handle our responsibilities and continue on with our days. But, without acts of intentional self-care, those responsibilities begin to feel like rocks weighing us down. Feeling down then leads to negativity that will starve the soul. Instead of allowing that to happen choose whatever works best for you and nourish your soul with self-care. You will quickly find that you are a better person for taking the time to just love and support yourself. A better, healthier person then leads to a better life full of positivity rather than negativity.