A lot of us still think of self-care as a luxury rather than a priority. Taking care of yourself ensures your mental, spiritual, and emotional health. We often feel guilty when we show up for ourselves. The second we wake up we are bombarded with the needs of others. Work emails, social media notifications, partners, children, or pets begging for our attention. But, what about us?
Before we can give to others we have to give to ourselves. Taking time to focus on our mental, emotional, and physical health can change our day. In this post, I’ll share a bit about self-care, my morning self-care routine, and there’s even a clip of my appearance on Good Morning Lalaland.
What is Self-Care?
When people think of self-care they might think of a manicure, a yoga class, or spa day. The idea of spending time at a spa when you have responsibilities at home or work can make you feel guilty. So you don’t do it. But then you never know how much you can accomplish or how much happier you’d be if you did it.
Simply put, self-care bundles is the collection of things you do to take care of your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Physical self-care might be a skin-care regimen, yoga class, or workout. Mental self-care might be taking time away from something to make sure you’ve processed it. Emotional self-care is stepping away from things that trigger us. And spiritual self-care can be as simple as just saying a prayer, meditating.
Self-care can be a variety of things. We often think it can be some major thing. But it can also be as simple as prioritizing how you start your day to ensure that you’re at your best.
My Journey to Self-Care
Trust me, I understand how hard it can be to prioritize self-care. As a first-generation Asian American, I was brought up with the mindset to study hard and work long hours to achieve success. All while burning myself out. And it showed itself in my body. It can affect your health and limit your ability to show up for yourself.
The journey to embracing and realizing the importance of self-care was a struggle. I had to unlearn a lot of what I learned growing up. I had to recognize that the go-go-go mentality isn’t successful if there’s no balance. Look at how many people have “success” but don’t take a second to enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy what you have, why search for more?
Balance is the key. Reiki is an ancient Asian form of energy healing. It’s about restoring balance to your chakras and helping your energy work at its best. As I found the time to be mindful when I eat, work, rest, and spend time with loved ones. I saw I was able to do incredible things. The balance is the key because too much work will burn you out.
How to Do Self-Care
You may hear a lot about self-care and get confused. Self-care is taking time for yourself. This can be time to tend to your body, taking a second to breathe or collect your thoughts, or it can be as simple as doing a skincare routine that makes you feel powerful. How you start and end your day can be the best time to focus on self-care.
Without self-care, it is harder to focus, be present, and even think about structuring our days.
The reality is we can’t carve out large chunks of time to dedicate to self-care. That’s why I keep it simple. You don’t have time to unplug and meditate for 30 minutes if you can’t. If you practice mindfulness you can have the same effect.
You’re a lot less stuck in the past or scared of the future when you’re present throughout the day. Part of the way to be in the present moment is to ground yourself, connect with yourself, and learn to enjoy yourself.
Examples of Self-Care
Instead of going through the grocery list when you’re playing with your kids, really sit with them. See how that love and connection and time to slow down makes it easier for you to remember what you need at the store.
Instead of reading the news while you’re eating, try to live in that moment. Really honor your food. Then you can connect with what you’re eating so you don’t overeat or so the news doesn’t get you stressed out.
Another simple approach to self-care is to establish a morning routine focused on nourishing your body. This could be preparing a delicious meal for your family, taking time to meditate, or doing yoga, it can be giving yourself 20 minutes to make a list for the day. It’s partly whatever works for you and partly whatever helps make you feel your best. If you still feel tired after you wake up, have no worries, some supplements for energy can help.
My Morning Routine
The secret to a lot of my success is my morning routine. I start my day with three easy steps. I also take this time as a moment to connect with myself and set the tone for my day. Also, the routine helps me get in the habit of staying present.
1) Drink warm lemon water
As I cut the lemon and juice it into some water I connect to feeling good. Plus, lemon water helps detox and alkalize your body. It helps flush out your system and can help you in waking up.
2) Have celery juice an/or a wheatgrass shot
Every morning, I like to have a glass of celery juice and follow that with a shot of wheatgrass. Celery juice is high in phytonutrients which reduce inflammation. I also find that it helps give me energy throughout the day.
Wheatgrass is a superfood chock full of nutrients like iron, calcium 17 amino acids, multiple vitamins and tons of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is great for detoxification.
3) I finish my routine with a matcha latte or Just Add Water™
You may still need caffeine or something in the morning to get you going. I prefer matcha to coffee. I find it helps me be less jittery. You can check out more about matcha latte morning ritual. I also created Just Add Water to be chock full of nutrients your body needs. It’s chocolate flavored so you can sneak it into your coffee for more of a morning boost.
I recently shared more about my morning routine and small but impactful ways I practice self-care on Good Morning Lalaland. Check out the segment and also our detox supplements.
If you’re new to establishing a morning routine that’s all about you, start with step one. As you become accustomed to that routine, build on it by adding more. Like maybe take a break to take 5 deep breaths to center your thoughts. Some people add on a quick yoga stretch while others go for a jog. There are no wrong answers! Whatever your morning routine looks like, remember to be present. Please share how you enjoy this morning routine and tell me what you think!
XO – Serena
