My Self-Care Practices
Updated: Jul 21, 2021
Something I get asked about all the time is my self-care and mindset practices, and I fully appreciate that everyone’s looks a little bit different and finding what works for you is important but, I thought I would share mine with you.
My practice has evolved over the years (it certainly didn't look like it does now when I started), so I’m going to walk you through the evolution of some of my practices and my daily routine.
Something else I am mindful of is that not everyone will want to do their self-care practices in the morning. Some like middle of the day at lunch. Some like night. If you aren’t sure which one you prefer - have a play with all of the options and see which one feels best for you. There’s no right or wrong when it comes to YOUR self-care practices. Because they’re yours. So whatever works for you.
So, my self-care practices can be broken into 2 categories.
The non-negotiables, how I get myself out of a rut / when I’m feeling overwhelmed and the stuff that makes me FEEL good.
My Self-care and mindset rituals.
I have 4 non-negotiables and when I haven’t been doing these, I really notice it.
Exercise. If I’m honest with you, I become a bit of a moody bitch when I don’t train for a few days. I get agitated, short, grumpy and just out of sorts. Everyone close to me knows it - and I know as soon as I do exercise, I feel a million times better.
My go to is high intensity training. Having played sports all my life (tennis, netball, basketball, athletics, gymnastics, softball - all the sports) I really enjoy working up a sweat.
These days I love Crossfit - and I’m fortunate that where I train, they have crossfit classes and conditioning classes - so depending on how I’m feeling each day, I have options to choose from.
I also love Muay-Thai.
These allow me to completely escape and forget about any dramas that are going on… usually because I’m focused on not dying or getting punched in the face.
On the days I want to do something but aren’t in the mood for high intensity training, I’ll go for a walk, stretch or do yoga or pilates. Something that still allows me to move my body - but isn’t going to exhaust me.
2. Food & Water
Staying hydrated is super important to me (& everyone). I also place a huge importance on eating right and knowing when I’m not and course correcting. I might notice a change in my mood or energy levels when I'm not hydrating an eating right and will get myself back on the right course
3. Being outdoors +/or grounding
Growing up in the country and going camping every school holidays, means that I am most at home when I’m outside. If I am on the river - all my troubles disappear. It’s magical.
Living in Melbourne it can be really easy to spend far too many hours inside. And when I don’t see sunlight or get outdoors and go on adventures I really notice it. I feel less calm and like something is missing.
As soon as I go for a walk in a forest or on a lake or anywhere really as long as I’m outside with the sun (or moon) on my face I feel instantly calm.
Grounding is something I do when I’m anxious. I’ll go outside, take my shoes off and stand on the grass and just stay there in silence. When I have time, I’ll go to the beach or river and swim or stand in the water during winter. There’s something so calming about water….
So if you haven’t tried either of these, or you don’t get outside enough - i encourage you to get outside for at least 30 minutes a day, and see if you notice the difference. Even if it’s going for a walk at lunchtime.
4. Fun & Laughter
This might sound super strange, but when I get too serious, when I’m busy, when I’m just ‘in the zone’ the one thing that goes out the window is how much I laugh and how much fun I have.
When I journal and ask what my inner child needs, it is almost always laughter or fun.
I love laughing, and I’m talking laugh until you cry. Probably the biggest change I’ve noticed since going full time in my business is that I don’t get to just LAUGH with people much anymore.
So I need to make fun a priority.
The second part of this is My Self-care and mindset rituals.
There are 3 elements to this one
Journaling
Back in 2016 I was highly anxious, paranoid and scared daily. I struggled to fall asleep. If I was with my partner at the time, he had to put his hand in the middle of my back to help calm me as I fell asleep. If I was by myself I was a mess. So what did I start doing?
I set a timer before bed, just 10 minutes to just write about everything.
When I got into a better place, I started doing the resilience projects journal and I did that every day for 6 months. I think I did this just to prove to myself I could journal, but after I finished their journal, I created and printed my own journals which had a series of questions on them and if you're new to journaling feel free to use these as a starting point.
Today I feel (this had a sliding scale from rubbish to amazing)
I feel this way because...
To improve my mood I can...
Todays’ top project is:
Why is this important to me?
One small action I can take to move forward is...
I will finish working at...
I am grateful for...
I would then rate my happiness out of 10 and have a tick box for mindfulness and exercise
Then I would free write anything I needed.
Now, my journaling is a lot of just me free writing. Some days I might ask myself a question that I really want to dive into, and other days I just let it flow onto the paper and see where it takes me.
2. Meditation
While I'd dabbled here and there over the years, my regular meditation practice started in 2016 (are you seeing a pattern here? I started paying attention to myself when my love was completely upside down)
I first started with headspace while I was driving. I would put on a 5 or 10 minute meditation from a category I was feeling at the time and listen to that. I would try to do 10 days in a row, following different themes.
Then I progressed into doing nightly meditations before going to bed.
I then started using insight timer - guided meditations (depending on what I needed). There are a few I have bookmarked that I always use and love going back to, including one for perfect health which I use when I'm feeling under the weather
Now, I chop and change between self guided meditations after breathwork and guided meditations. I let my body and my mind decide what I need at the time and do my best to listen.
Worth keeping in mind is that there are some meditations I simply can not listen to. So if you are listening to one and struggling - turn it off and find a new one.
3. Breathwork
I was first introduced to breathwork when I went to Tony Robbins’ Unleash the Power Within in Sydney in 2019. I’d heard of people going to this years ago and thought it was a load of rubbish - but as with a lot of things - as we grow older we have an appreciation for new things.
Tony has a daily priming exercise that he does - and he did it there and I felt complete euphoria when I did it. Along with huge head spins because I’d never done anything like this - and to do it in a room with thousands of people was next level!
This practice incorporates breath, gratitude, light work and manifestation.
You can try it out here.
Then I discovered Owaken Breathwork. I purchased their training and started doing their 5-10 minute daily practice and sometimes also their 60 minute journey.
This practice has absolutely changed my life! Why? it brings me clarity and calm
You can check it out here.
So, the key for this working for me ended up being starting with one thing and gradually adding in elements as I felt like I wanted or needed something more.
I started with journaling. And got really good at that.
Then I incorporated some meditation with this.
Then I looked at breathwork.
These days, my usual daily practice looks a little like this:
Wake Up.
Splash my face with water and brush my teeth.
Put my headphones on with nature sounds or meditation music and do the owaken daily, into a self-guided meditation.
Then I pull an oracle card.
Journal.
After that I head to the gym and train.
Some days I will do Tony’s priming exercise before pulling a card - or maybe I’ll do a guided meditation before pulling a card it juts depends on what I need.
There are also some days when I’ll train first and do my practice later.
And there are some days I don’t do it at all - and that’s totally ok.
BUT I do know that if I miss a few days in a row, I start to get a bit antsy / agitated.
I would LOVE to hear about your rituals and self-care practices, so if you're feeling like sharing, head over to IG and message me!
Big Love,
