Here are some self care tips that I follow, hopefully you’ll find them helpful too!
1. Clean your room: I find this very therapeutic. When everything seems to be spiraling out of control, organizing your desk can prove to be a great way to destress. I think it starts with the little things, when you know where your things are, it sort of leaves you feeling powerful and in control of your life.
2. Meditate: When there’s so much going on in your life, you just want to sit in one place and clear your mind, flush out the chaos and just stay still and breathe. Sometimes, I face difficulty sleeping, there are so many thoughts running through my mind and just bouncing against each other. I like to kind of put my mind in sleep mode for a while, I find it very calming.
3. Do yoga: You’ve probably read a lot of articles about the benefits of yoga but trust me, it’s very energizing. I’ve been doing it properly for the past 2 months and I’m seeing a lot of benefits. Yoga is another form of self care, it incorporates physical AND mental well being. It keeps your organs running smoothly and helps with good posture. I used to have horrible form before yoga, I had a very stiff back and I wanted to do something about it. Now, I make it a point to sit with a straight back. Also, it’s a great way to stretch on recovery days, when you’ve done intense exercises the previous day, you need to deal with the soreness that comes with it. Yoga really helps with muscle recovery. It’s also great if you’re short tempered and impatient (like me), it’s very cathartic and you just start to enjoy breathing and getting into different poses, getting more flexible each day. I always start the day with yoga when I have to get ready for college early in the morning, I’m a grumpy morning person and those catcalls always manage to wake me up.
4. Exercise: I enjoy jogging and doing various exercises to build up my stamina. It’s always good to keep your body going, start with something simple and just keep increasing the difficulty level slowly. A good 30 minutes of treadmill really gets me going when I’m in a lazy mood. I love to sweat it out and there’s nothing better than that adrenalin rush you experience. I love seeing the physical changes, but more than that, it’s about the way you feel. Mind and body must work together at all times. Do it for yourself and for no one else, at the end of the day, you’re responsible for your happiness.
5. Drink LOTS of water: I mean COME ON! Seeing colourless urine throughout the day leaves you feeling very satisfied. Hydration is so important, you gotta take care of your gut and keep everything moving. Always make it a point to carry a water bottle or at least bring some money with you to buy a bottle of water when you’re out.
6. Drink vegetable juice: Okay, story time. I developed a terrible case of acne in grade 6 and I used to eat a lot of junk food because junk food was comfort food at the time. Also, I had oily skin (no wait, I still have oily skin). I didn’t know how to deal with it and I went to a bunch of dermatologists who recommended pills for acne, as soon as I stopped taking them, BAM, acne just went “Surprise, thought you’d seen the last of me?”. I wanted a permanent solution and I just wanted to feel comfortable in my own skin, my mum found this vegetable juice recipe online (TRULY A MIRACLE).
Basically, it consists of apple, carrot and beetroot. You have to cut them up and put them in a blender (Like Nutribullet). Then add some water till the maximum limit (I mean, this information isn’t necessary if you own Nutribullet). I started drinking it and I changed my diet too, I wanted to eat healthy food. 2 weeks later, my skin really started clearing up. I make it a point to make and drink the juice on a daily basis. It really helps in flushing out all the toxins and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I get like 1 or two pimples once in a while, but I don’t really mind.
7. Apply a face mask: The key ingredients of my face mask are turmeric, yogurt, rose water and honey. I normally leave it on for 15 minutes till it’s dry and wash it off. It leaves your skin feeling soft and it really helps in getting an even skin tone. I apply it on a daily basis!
Well, that’s all for now! Remember that consistency is key! Your mental health comes before anything else, so please do look after yourself. Have a great day and breathe :).
