Shameless Self Care
We resist it sometimes, but we need self-care. We may have a list of reasons to put ourselves last until we are completely depleted, but these shameless acts of self-care will bring us back to ourselves.
Week One-Sanctuary
Your first nurturing practice is to create a sanctuary for yourself…You will come back to this in the weeks to come. You need to have a physical space where you have a safe haven to relax your nervous system. It doesn’t need to be huge…just a space that makes you feel joy, peace and relaxation. You may want to do your breath work, movement practice and meditations here. You may just want to come and sit in quiet. This is one of the most important things you can do to create a safe space for your practice. If you’re not sure what kind of sanctuary you need, check out this quiz!
Week Two - Sanctuary +
This is so important that I’m giving you two weeks to work on it. It is so necessary to have a sanctuary and place that you can rest, snuggle, breathe, meditate, find space to relax and soothe your nervous system. If you didn’t get to it last week, that’s okay, do it this week… And if you did do it last week, you are going to add something to your space that represents a root chakra challenge you are experiencing—you can find a toy or play thing for your inner child, an object that represents money, something that reminds you to honor your body and nourish it with healthy foods, and/or an object that connects you to your family. Let these objects soothe and settle your nervous system and bring you joy.
Week Three - Turn on to get what you want
We all want something. It is very human to want and often we walk around sad and depressed about what we don’t have…this is not going to bring in what you do want. Turn on is the key to bringing in and manifesting what you want in your life…so, this week’s self care is to think of something you want…a new job, a relationship, a change in the relationship you do have, a stronger, healthier body, a new car or thing, or whatever it is….then write a list based on turn on, meaning if it makes you feel negative because you don’t have it, focus on what you want to feel…
I have manifested several jobs based on this activity. Get a piece of paper and focus on feeling turned on and excited….start to write down what would feel good about having the thing that you want and all the things that it would bring for you.
So for example…I didn’t know what job I wanted, but I knew what I wanted to do and feel so, I wrote down:
Work for myself-no boss, flexible hours and maximum work week of 25 hours per week, I want to help people feel better, I want to move my body and not just sit all day, I want to have relationships with the people I’m working with (ie equal status), I want to travel, I want to feel valued and I want to profoundly affect people’s lives.
10 months later I walked into the Pilates Center as a temp and it was EVERYTHING that I wanted. I became a pilates instructor and it was all based on turn on and how I wanted to feel.
So…think of what you want to feel and write it down, feeling into the exhilaration, butterflies in your stomach excitement & turn on.
If it starts to feel bad somehow because you don’t have it, pivot back to what you want to feel.
Post your list in the facebook group.
Week Four - Mindful Eating
To learn more, check out this video.
Week 7 - Sun Bath
Go outside in the early morning sunlight. Cover both eyes with your palms, but expose your forehead. Turn your exposed forehead to the light and feel the warmth and light permeating your forehead and activating your pineal gland. This will help to wake you up and conversely, you will feel more tired towards the end of the day.
Week 8 - Glimmers
This week, spend your time finding glimmers. Snap a picture and post it in the fb group, if you’d like to share.
A glimmer is the exact opposite of a trigger—it is some kind of cue, either internal or external that brings one back to a sense of joy or safety. This can be anything from catching a view of the skyline of your favorite city to seeing a picture of your pet.
In our overstimulated worlds, glimmers can be the answer to regulating our overwhelmed nervous system.
The concept of glimmers is part of polyvagal theory. Coined by behavioral neuroscientist Stephen Porges, the theory describes how our autonomic nervous system (which controls involuntary actions like breathing) is searching for and reading cues to determine if they are dangerous.
This process is called neuroception, and the vagus nerve , which regulates organ functions, is responsible for it.
Discovering Your Glimmers
Think of a moment you had—no matter how fleeting it might have been—where you felt safe and connected, whether with yourself or with others. Glimmers will feel a little different in everyone’s bodies, but they’re generally those warm-and-fuzzy feelings where you feel cozy and safe.
If you're still having trouble identifying what your own glimmers are, here are some common ones:
Feeling the warmth of the sun
Sensing the cool, salty ocean air
The smell of cut grass
Seeing a rainbow
Sunlight sparkling on water
Smelling lavender or some other relaxing scent
Petting a dog or cat
Being in nature
A stranger smiling at you in public
The perfect cup of coffee