Feel like losing yourself in life? Try these self-care tips

What is self-care?
Why is it important for your
health, wealth & relationship?

On a plane, you may have seen crew members advising passengers to put on the oxygen mask first for themselves and then for their babies. This is a very simple example of self-care – If you are safe, your child will be safe.

Self-care can be defined as taking the time to look after your needs and desires in much the same way you have done to fulfill those of your family and work. More often than not, work demands and family priorities force you to deny yourself that self-care. Prolonged periods of such denial can lead to stress and depression. A feeling of loneliness and difficulty unwinding will set in.

Before we discuss in detail why self-care is important for your health, wealth, and relationships, let us pause to correct some of the myths you may have built around it.

Self-care is selfishness. As we have seen in the example above, you are not being selfish by securing yourself first. You are only being intelligent.

Self-care is self-indulgence. If an occasional time out with friends or signing up for a music lesson would make you feel better, view that as an investment for the well-being of you and your family; not as an indulgence by you.

Self-care is “anti-sacrifice”. Some people wrongly tag sacrifice with responsibilities. During the dutiful discharging of responsibilities, they claim to experience a certain “sacrificial joy” which, sooner than later, would unmask the façade leaving them joyless. Though much feted for its supposed nobility, sacrifice is only displeasure in waiting.

Types of self-care

As you would know, we are made of body, mind, and soul. Therefore, our self-care needs are classified along this line into three respective types – Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual. Each of these three should be nourished to make us feel good about
ourselves. An imbalance in even one of them can cause a disturbance in overall well-being.

Physical

Everything to keep you bodily fit falls under this – diet, workouts, timely sleep, etc. Simple acts like turning off your work mail notification at nine every night is a form of self-care; so is taking time for a long-distance run on the weekends.

Emotional

Gardening, monthly movie outings, long drives, or even a lazy weekend. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. Emotional self-care relaxes your mind and helps you view things with a positive outlook.

Spiritual

Though the term may sound esoteric, many of the spiritual self-care practices are not really beyond the grasp. Guided meditation, attending satsangs, mindfulness, charity, volunteering. Anything that warms the cockles of your heart is spiritual self-care.

Before we learn how to create a self-care routine, be assured that the purpose of it is wellness. Beyond the feel-good, you will see its benefits in your health, wealth, and relationships.

Look after yourself without guilt. Your family will be happy you did.

How to form a self-care routine?

The first and most important step is to believe in your heart that you deserve some self-care. At the risk of sounding sentimental, you would be doing great good to your family if you took interest in yourself.

Pick a hobby you have long wanted to do. Eyeing that bike for weekend rides? Buy it. Make the start. Stick to the plan. Don’t analyze. This is not about analytics. This is about feeling better. Soak yourself in the new experience. Give it your heart and time.

By the way, don’t be daunted by the classification of self-care. Pick anything that will make you feel good. Whatever the choice, the right time for you to begin the routine is NOW.

Heartfulness Meditation

Heartfulness meditation has been developed by a spiritual institution steeped in the practice of meditation for over a hundred years. It has taught the profundity and timeless value of heartfulness meditation to millions of people around the world.

The core philosophy of Heartfulness meditation practice lies in recognizing the power of the tender heart over the wayward mind. Through simple, easy-to-practice meditation, Heartfulness teaches this eternal truth. If we keep the heart in the right place, our mind
will automatically follow us there. With a willing mind, you would be able to follow your heart without any guilt. And gift yourself the self-care, the benefits you will enjoy throughout your life. In health, wealth, and relationship.

Heartfulness believes that meditation, an ancient yet timeless skill, should be shared for free. Everything in the app is free. Be it to practice meditation, attend master classes or seek the help of a personal trainer. What you will spend is only your time.

Download Heartfulness App. Begin your meditation. Feel the change.