Self-Care Sundays feat. Jenny Bird
Self-love practices and self-care practices have become so important to me - and I mean more than just a bath. There are deeper things that I have been trying to make room for. I am a big believer in self-love not just self-care. I was really good at self-care for a long time. I loved treating myself to spa days and my husband and I would trade times and go to a hotel alone for a night to get a break from the kids, the house, all responsibilities. I’m an empath and I take on everyone else’s energy so I need alone time to recharge.
But self-love is an exploration and discovery around the journey of fully accepting yourself. It’s the work to have full affection for yourself. It's super brave to do because you have to really look at yourself and say, ‘this is really who I am’ but you do it without judgement. It takes some work. I’ve done hypnotherapy and inner child work but in Covid, part of my self-love has been asking myself, what is making me unravel. Like, if I am going to freak out, what have I not done. Some of the things for me are making my bed, scheduling time for myself ahead of time, sweating or moving in some way every day. I also enjoy plugging into the planet which for me, is first taking off my shoes and walking barefoot in the grass, then laying on my back and just checking in with the weather, the wind, the clouds and the sky overall while I simply take in the magnificence of this planet and turn my attention to my breath. Then flipping over, I mush my face into the earth and breathe in its aroma.
Taking time to actually do my makeup is also big for me and of course...sleep.
What I do is I put my non-negotiables on sticky notes and I put them on my mirror; makeup, sleep, healthy eating, making my bed etc.. and I have a basket of other things that if I just need to leaf through and remember to do, I have it here written down. Dancing, laughter, doing my own nails, connecting with a friend. Writing them down helps me remember and allows me to incorporate them into my day. I find I grab the chance to do one of those things more often when I glance at them. And some days, I have also found myself flipping through the notes to see how I did at putting my wellness first.
SHOP JENNY BIRD'S PICKS FROM EE-MAH TO SUPPORT HER SELF-CARE