Is self-care something you put on the back burner and often forget about or... you simply make it last on your 'to do' list, after taking care of everyone else? If so, that will likely have you end up feeling exhausted, or worse, burned out, and lacking inspiration to truly go for your authentic soul-aligned dreams and goals so you can live out your brightest, most enjoyable life. 

Stress can get the better of any of us, if we don't make the time and create the space to practice daily self care which not only makes us feel good, but helps to improve self-awareness by providing the opportunity to slow down the mind, reflect and pay attention to our own needs. 

And nurture them into their full blooming BLISS!

One of the most common neglected practices I come across is... you guessed it, self-care. 

DEEP INTENTIONAL Self-care.

The kind that centres you.

The kind of self care that keeps you calm, even when there might be chaos going on around you.

But because you make it a priority to take care of yourself, you become unflappable.

And it's nice to be inspired with some additional self-care practices, or reminded to implement your favourites ones... on the regular!

I'm 'post-birthday' celebrations this week, plus laser focused writing and working with clients inside my second-level coaching program 'Soul Goal Academy' (Where I take my students through how to use the power of peak performance (energy) and peak productivity (sequence and systems) to better leverage their knowledge, expertise and time to make more money in a preferred ‘lifestyle design’ way. So that they can share their knowledge with their clients how to duplicate their results - whether that is in healing, self-belief, technical, or some other practical method.)

So my personal focus is very much on exercising my discipline to practice a LOT of daily self-care. 

5 Benefits of Self-Care

1. First and foremost, you benefit from operating from a full cup, when you regularly fill it! 
2. You slow down to have the energy to be more productive focused on the things that are MOST important to you.
3. You connect with yourself and your personal needs, meeting them, including giving yourself more compassion.
4. Self-care allows you to slow down, and reflect, helping you to spend quality time with yourself and finding out who you really are.
5. With a full cup (bountiful energy), clarity and joy of being productive with your own dreams and goals manifesting them into your reality (or at least moving in the direction of bringing them into full fruition), and the joy that you emit from that vibration and frequency ...you have the ability to give more to others, unconditionally. Truly coming from a space of service of the heart, not trading or feeling obligated. Operating from self-love because you take regular care of yourself, will elevate not only your life experience, but the impact you have with everyone you cross paths with.

Here's 5 Of My Favourite Self-Care Practices This Week To Share With You  

1. Cleanse Day - To Detox - with the past few weeks focused on several birthday's I skipped a few cleanse days (which I LOVE). Missing a few weeks of daily cleanse days definitely started to have an impact on me, slowing me down a smidge from my regular "ninja on crack" warp speed energy. So I planned one again for today... and I'm loving it! Giving your body a daily rest once a week (or sometimes a double-day) MASSIVELY improves energy levels, mental clarity, 'feel good' factor multiplies and the added benefit is ...the jeans get looser! 

2. Meditate - many years ago I struggled to slow my mind down enough to enjoy this. NOW, I don't go a day without some form of meditation practice. It slows down your nervous system arresting the 'fight & flight' response giving you the ability to be centred, calm and clear minded to be in tune with your intuition and make your best decisions. Need some help with a guided meditation to let go of stress and welcome in ease? Here, try this one...

3. Hot Chocolate & Connection - So my little one said to me on Sunday (a few days after my birthday) "Mum! We haven't had cake!" It's not my usual 'delight' (I'm more of an organic wine and cheese kinda gal). So I met that wish with an afternoon out to San Churro to get hot chocolates (check out the 'marshmallow bomb' my little one chose) and a decadent 'Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Ice cream' to share. The enjoyment of being intentional to spend quality time doing the simple things with loved ones meets one of our deepest human needs for 'connection.' Double that up with hot chocolate, and you've scored yourself a dopamine high that an Olympic drug squad could possible detect and disqualify for an 'unfair advantage'. Mmmmmmmm, happiness overload and an energy boost to boot! 

4. Foot spa - I did this earlier today, hand-in-hand with my "cleanse day." The best thing about this is I woke up deciding to treat myself with this little event while I researched and wrote more for my book with my laptop, while sitting on the comfy lounge... in my own home. (Aaaaah, double-bliss!) I had my feet bathing in the little bath of bliss for well over an hour. Needless to say, they are now soft as a baby's bottom! I used water as hot as I could tolerate, with a kettle of hot water on the side to top up. And in the mix, I added a handful of magnesium flakes, a handful of epsom salts with hibiscus flowers and few drops of lavender oil... BLISS! ...Helps with the detoxing too. 

5. Reading - This is such a core value for me, to read daily. For a few years, when my little one was really young, I parked this daily ritual ...with great lamentation. I remember those days being utterly exhausted juggling 'baby and business' as a soul-o-preneur (and single) full-time parent. The truth was, even if I wanted to read, I'd barely get past a few sentences or at best a paragraph, re-reading them again and again because with the level of brain fog I had during those days I simply didn't have the bandwidth to absorb whatever I was reading. Back then, I used whatever energy I had to work with my clients. 

But a lot has changed how I run my business and work with my clients in the past 12-18 months. For one, I've built the systems, and the courses as the key framework to support my clients and reduce my personal workload (therefore freeing up my time again). And secondly, I made new choices on elevating self-care as my #1 PRIORITY FOR MYSELF EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

With that new level of consistent energy as I became even more in tune with my personal energy rhythm and worked with it, I also made it a priority to read every. single. day. 

Why? Because it's not just an 'interest' for me. It's the very 'breathe' of inspiration for my soul to speak to me on so many levels. Yes, my soul speaks to me through books! It guides me through inspiration what to pick up and glance at. What to purchase and read next. What to give my full attention to absorb and integrate as I immediately take action and implement. 

So I read daily. For myself, and to my little one, every single night. I believe instilling the love for learning and reading into our children is possibly the greatest nourishment for their soul and giving them the opportunity to access and live out their best selves. Not for 'academic reasons' (which only locks people more into their head with 'mental IQ') but more so for the intuitive expansion and breeding imagination due to enhancing emotional intelligence (EQ). 

I'm currently reading 'Outrank.' It's a book on mastering SEO. (I am a healer, and full of creativity, aaaaand I'm a bit of a tech and marketing geek!). You'd think it'd be cut and dry, very left-brain reading. But in fact, the author Damon Burton, is one of the most kindest souls I've ever come across, with a heart the size of the sun, and the ability to share the principles in story-telling (accessing the right-brain), balancing it well with the left-brain process. I highly recommend it if you are seeking to elevate your website marketing to the next level. You can get it on Amazon, or the author offers a free copy for you to access here.

Have any of these self-care ideas I've shared inspired you, or re-energised you to practice them more  for yourself, now?

Let me know. What book you are currently reading? Do you cleanse, or want some info on how to get started? Are you practicing meditation every day, or is it something you struggle with (perhaps your mind doesn't stop nattering away and distracts you?) What's your favourite hot beverage - while hot chocolate is a rare treat for me, I'm a herbal tea (peppermint and liquorice is my fav!) kinda gal these days. I gave up the 5-6 cups of coffee a day loooooooong ago! Do you ever treat yourself to a foot spa, at home or at a salon? 

Let me know in the comments below. And feel free to share this blog article with those you know who would benefit from increasing their daily self care practices.

Go and be AWESOME every day. Making sure you prioritise YOURSELF by making self-care a must!