My 5 Favorite Self-Care Activities

We have all heard about how important self-care is. What is exactly is self-care? Self-care is the act of taking care of yourself in order to improve your health and happiness. Sounds pretty easy right? Sometimes finding the time is the hardest part. With so many obligations between family, work, cooking, cleaning, it’s not always easy to make the time. However, in order to stay healthy and take care of others and all of our obligations, it’s so important! Self-care is taking the time to do the things that make you happy, and make you feel good! You can’t take care of anyone else until you take care of yourself first. When I became a mom 10 years ago, I quickly learned how important “Me Time” and Self-Care was. I love putting my family first, but knew that it was more important to take care of myself too!  

Self-Care can mean so many different things to all of us. Maybe a spa day is what you enjoy, or lunch with girlfriends. Maybe it’s reading a book and enjoying a glass of wine or tea as you unwind from the day. Here are some of my favorite self-care activities that I love to do on a regular basis.

1. PRACTICE YOGA Yoga is good for your body, mind and spirit.  I took my first yoga class over 20 years ago.  When the instructor told me to empty my mind and breathe, I thought, that’s impossible! Now, years later of practicing several different types of yoga, it is my favorite form of self-care.  I know that every time I roll out my mat, I am not only getting a good physical workout, but I am breathing, meditating and taking a mental break too.  
2. READ A BOOK I had a lot of projects going on this summer and was feeling pretty stressed out! So, what did I do? I picked up a novel and floated in my pool! I saw this as self-care, because even though I was putting things off that I knew I should be doing, I was giving myself time to relax and turn my brain off! I sometimes felt guilty, because I knew I was procrastinating on my projects, but I also knew that this is exactly what I needed.  I am a book worm and proud of it! There is nothing better than a Nicholas Sparks novel! I also enjoyed Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear, by Elizabeth Gilbert, to start fueling my creativity spark again that I felt had died over the summer! I also read a great nutrition book, The Dirt Cure, by Maya Shetreat-Klein which was an excellent book about children’s health. I also checked out my sister-in-law’s book collection and found some great thriller, adventure novels. There is no longer the guilty feeling about curling up with a good book, even when the laundry isn’t done!
   
3. HOME SPA DAY I have great memories of when my childhood friend Kelly lived in Las Vegas. We would create home spa days. We would make facial masks out of oatmeal and honey, relax with cucumbers on our eyes and would try other fun do-it-yourself pampering treatments.  We would also make healthy lunches while sipping on sparkling peach wine. We also enjoyed going to the spa, but I will never forget these great Kelly-Lisa spa days! I still continue home spa days and love spending time taking care of myself with do-it-yourself spa treatments, as well as, manicures and pedicures!
   
4. WALKING One of my favorite ways to get exercise right now is walking. I love spending time outdoors and getting my daily exercise in. Over the past couple years, I have a few girlfriends that I walk with. They say that girlfriends are the best therapy, and we have all found that to be true through our long walks and good talks! 
   
5. EATING HEALTHY The best way to love yourself, is by feeding yourself nourishing, healthy foods! I am sure it’s no surprise that I love to cook! I love trying new recipes and eating fresh healthy food that I know will fuel my body and make me healthier and happier.
   

In order to be the best and healthiest version of ourselves, it’s important to carve out the time for our self- care. Whether that is something small every day or even just once a week. What are your favorite Self-Care activities?