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Self-love. Teach me how to love. These two words are synonymous with self-care, especially over the past couple of years. As a nation we have needed it more than ever before, but as woman this is a very important aspect of our daily lives. Usually the backbone of our family, we are usually the ones carrying the load of family responsibility. We love caring for our loved ones, but where do you fit in? We have all seen social media posts mentioning the topic of self-care and encouraging you too take out the time to schedule in some self-care factors, but for many people that meant going to a day spa or going on a girlfriend getaway. so, the question now is, what is self-care and what does it really mean?
Giving a nod to the women of the world I’m going to share some facts on what self-care means. Various ways to bring the spa at home and some tips for delegating a grandiose self-care routine, one that you can make your very own, even if you are stuck at home. As an Indie Artistan natural beauty Crafter, I have taken self-love made it my own, so I want to share everything I have learned with you.

What is self-care?

Everyone has their own interpretation of caring for themselves, for some it means having a glass of wine, a warm shower, and a foot massage, while for others it may mean a yoga class, a face steam and a glass of hot matcha tea.

But getting to the meat and potatoes of the term ‘self-care’ is the act of nurturing your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. This can be accomplished by loving on yourself, it is the act of handling and managing stress. It includes promoting positive outcomes such as taking care of your physical appearance, which includes your skin, and relaxing and taking a breather from the everyday stress of life.

So, is self-care the same as self-love? The two go hand in hand. It actually means doing something that makes you feel good and not feeling guilty about it, so, there are more than one way to love on yourself, and I’m going to give you a few examples of a few of those ways.

  1. Exercising. Working out, letting go of stress by practicing a relaxing exercise. Going for a walk appreciating nature.
  2. Getting a journal and writing down what’s on your mind not concentrating on the negative things that are surrounding your life but the positive.
  3. Lighting a candle whether that’s in the day or night and doing your favorite skin care routine. Many think that going to a spa or masseuse is self-care, but giving your own self a facial, with your own hands is a treat.

The conversation of self-care falls into the other two words of self-love. No, it is not just a once a week pampering routine, a self-care routine can be an everyday ritual of eating healthy foods and exercising on a regular basis. Feeding your body with the right Foods and exercising and knowing what your body wants and needs and responding to that in a positive way is an example of self-love. For one person it could mean an exercise class of high intensity, for another it could define a low impact workout like yoga or maybe even a simple walk around the block every morning. Sleep is another huge area of self-care. We all know that the body needs sufficient rest to handle daily pressures. True, so many of us have different work schedules, but most of us are likely to feel overwhelmed and even nervous without sufficient sleep, so, by optimizing our schedule around our sleep cycles can be a positive life-changing experience.

With the situation centered around covid many of us are now working from home. Sadly, so many of our daily Beauty routines have suffered, but it should still be an important part of our self-care routines, even if our colleagues aren’t seeing us as in person. We may be working from home, yet it is still important for us to look our best, that way we will feel our best. Our Beauty routine helps to regulate our moods, especially during the pandemic. Applying our skincare and make-up can become an integral part of our self-care routine, so, let’s go over some of the self-care examples so that we can better apply this self-love upon ourselves:

  1. Daily walks or weekend hikes to the park with a friend or two. An exercise class on television or even a yoga class at the gym
  2. Preparing a healthy clean meal for you and the family The Joy of Cooking healthy meals is another example of self-love
  3. A warm shower or relaxing bath to soothe the body in mind can sometimes be just what the doctor ordered
  4. As a crafter of Ayurvedic scalp oils one of my favorite things for self-care practicing that I use is a scalp massage. It is very relaxing, and I know just the pressure points on my scalp that needs the love.
  5. I adore giving myself facials. I apply my honey facials and I sit in my tub and relax. Soothing music is a plus, and the outcome is better than any spa I’ve ever went to.

Now, Let’s talk about another form of self-care, particularly now when so many people has suffered problems with mental health. It’s been reported that during this pandemic, feelings of stress and anxiety has taken control of so many people’s emotions. To help people crawl out of their dark moods, the action of contacting and speaking with a professional health care provider, may be what is needed. Seeking out professional help, can help many to control their emotions, and for others just to meditate and to take some quiet time may be all the comfort that they need.

Personally, I’ve always loved to write, and I keep a journal. It is one of my favorite self-care routines that I practice every day, sometimes, overwhelming feelings will disappear when you put your thoughts down to pen and paper.

The practice of kindness is another self-care practice that I find help to reduce stress and increase happy thoughts. By doing something good for others, takes my mind off of some of my personal anxieties. Self-giving ideas or planning to make gift basket for friends or to drop off fruit to an older neighbor gives me time to meditate on loving my neighbors and being proud of myself for making others an important aspect in my life.

Positivity. Sometimes that means stepping away from social media. A lot of things we see on social media is not the real world, it’s a fantastical world. Step away from it, especially if it leaves you feeling critical of yourself or of your world. Social media should leave you feeling inspired or empowered so sometimes we have to clean up our social media surroundings. It’s like taking a broom to a dusty floor and cleaning it up. Consider your mental and emotional well-being in anything and all that you do.

  1. Remember it is okay to have to seek out a licensed professional if you feel overwhelmed.
  2. Taking a pen and paper to write down your thoughts and a journal is another way to self-love. Use pen and paper take away your stress.
  3. Social media: you may have to take a 24 hour or 48 hour detox from social media that may include unfollowing negative people on Facebook and Instagram.

During the global pandemic a lot of us did not realize how human contact is an essential part of our being even in the animal kingdom wolves carry on in packs and the lion pride carry on in groups. We as humans form close connections by maintaining friendships with family and friends. A large part of our happiness and stability are around our peers. During this time of the pandemic, we may not be around as many friends and family as we are used to, so try to keep close contact with someone that you can trust and even see from time to time.

  1. Schedule regular calls with loved ones. It is essential.
  2. Meeting a friend or family member or colleague for a cup of coffee once a week is important/
  3. Sending a heartfelt emoji to your girlfriend or bestie to let them know you’re thinking of them, or even sending out a card to say hello.
  4. Staying in close connection with friends and family through Zoom. Once a month I have family and friends on Zoom parties and the result is the bomb! and I have been buying cards just to send out after each party to let everybody know what a wonderful time I had and how special they are to me, everyone looks forward to receiving my cards every month.

I wanted to dive deeper into the self-love and self-care routine because self-care is not just a pampering route, but it involves so much more prioritizing on what you feel is most important in keeping you grounded and happy. The key element are what makes you happy.

Are you most relaxed after a hot shower or warm bath? or are you more fulfilled after meeting a friend at Starbucks for a cup of coffee?

When compiling yourself care routine write down your favorite activities in your life, or if you feel better type them on a computer and print them out so that you can go over and take a look at them during the week, afterwards, you’ll get in the motion of having a full routine of yourself care routine. Nothing is written in stone so this routine can be flexible, for example if music calms you then you can easily make that a big part of yourself care practice. A great playlist is part of self-care which equals self-love.

As we wrap this up, here is a quick example of how I set my self-care activities:

  1. A morning stroll listening to my favorite playlist.
  2. A relaxing bath time in the evening with a glass of my favorite drink.
  3. Preparing healthy clean meals to keep me on track during the week.
  4. I schedule times with friends to talk on the phone.
  5. I pamper myself by giving myself a scalp massage with my handmade Ayurvedic hair oils.

So, now that I’ve educated you on self-care and self-love, what are your thoughts? Make a note to yourself that self-love is not selfish, but it is necessary.

This feature was submitted Greta McCrary

My name is Great, warmly referred to as “Lady G.” As an Indie Artisan, I am an afficinado of all things beautiful. As a crafter, I curate luxe, certified, cruelty-free beauty and hair products. I love cooking and creating jewelry in my spare time. I am the mom of one beautiful daughter in college. Visit BodybSilk today & follow the Instagram page today.