4 Benefits of Creating a Self-Care Ritual
These days you can’t really avoid the wellness industry’s obsession with self-care. While some may argue that this tired term has become cliche, there are many benefits of incorporating elements of self-care into your routine. Self-care isn’t just about expensive spa sessions, yoga sessions or getting your hair treated on a periodic basis. It can also mean taking the time to prepare your favourite meal, running yourself a hot bubble bath or going for a run.
Any positive activity that makes you feel better can be considered self-care. However, there are also many more unexpected benefits of creating a self-care ritual. Let’s look at some of these in a bit more detail:
Making Time for Ourselves Can Increase Productivity
Slowing down can mean giving yourself permission to say no to social commitments, or taking 20 minutes out of each day to enjoy a cup of coffee. It could even be that you spend a few minutes doing breathing exercises before going into your next meeting. These activities can help bring you back to the present and provide you with perspective. It is easy for our to-do lists to overwhelm us at times but taking time out can help us prioritize in such a way that when we do return to our daily tasks, we are a lot more productive.
It Helps Us Be Kinder to Ourselves
Social media has played a major role in people becoming more superficial and having unrealistic expectations of themselves. Most of ourselves ignore our own pain and tend to be quite self-critical. When you practice self-care, you become kinder and more compassionate to yourself which in turn will serve to boost your confidence.
Self-Care Is Good for Your Health
Getting more sleep, regular exercise, mindfulness or even just a hot bath all serve to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which puts the body into ‘restoration’ mode. Allowing the body to decompress from the stress of daily life is important and these types of self-care activities allow you to do this. The more time we can dedicate to these activities, the better it will be in terms of allowing us to handle the stresses of everyday life. Furthermore, the impact of self-care on the body is also positive in that it allows us to build our immune systems and protect ourselves from viruses that attack when the body is weak.
It Allows You to Look After Others
Self-care ultimately allows you to create a better version of yourself. Becoming a stronger and more resilient person both physically and emotionally means you’ll be better placed when it comes to taking care of others and making positive contributions to society. It will also enable you to nurture better relationships with people through increased empathy.
While the idea of self-care may have received a lot of negative press, it’s important to avoid becoming overly cynical about it but rather try to incorporate small elements of it into your daily routines. Choose what works for you and go with. There is no doubt about it; these small steps can make a massive difference when it comes to not just your personal mental and physical health, but also on the impact you can have on others around you. So be sure to find some time for self-care today!
