Creating your self-care routine should be an enlightening journey of adventure.
It should lead you down unexpected paths. Paths that seem familiar, paths that seem like they open up into a whole new world, paths that might seem daunting, boring, or a chore to go down, and paths that have dead ends.
But as with life, these paths may change for you further on down the line, so be mindful to revisit them. That self-care path that has a dead for you now, might not always have a dead end. Sometimes these paths get extended into a new and exciting road of adventure later on down the line, leading you into a scenic route filled with relaxation, calm, and balance. And that blissful path you've been on for the past few weeks, months, or years might suddenly come to an end.
All the paths you take on your wellness journey are right. Why? Because it’s about trial and error. It’s about experiencing new ideas and walking away from the ones that don’t/or no longer suit the needs of your mind and body at that time.
Learning what tools are available to you now and trialing them is a great way to help you navigate your way through your own wellness journey both in the present and in the future.
As you might have already guessed self-care isn't a one-shoe-fits-all. What’s right for you, Amy or Louise might not be right for Becky or Michelle. And what works for you now might change down the line. But knowing what self-care elements are available to you can help better prepare you for the future.
For instance, yoga might help calm your mind and help ease your body from aches and pains.
Walks could help you think and sort out your thoughts, and a bonus is it helps keep you fit and boosts your mood through regular intake of vitamin D. You might even find baths help ease and relax your body, soothe your soul, and depending on your mood, they could make you more productive or slow down your racing mind.
But you might find you struggle with journaling, whilst Becky from across the road swears by it! You might even have a love-hate relationship with journaling, where it is a sporadic form of self-care. For example, you might only find journaling therapeutic when you're depressed and it might be your lifeline at that point in time because you find yourself more expressive that way and less expressive vocally, and when you are balanced you just find it's no longer needed.
Breathing exercises might not agree with you unless you are really anxious! And meditation might not do it for you at all!
You might even find that in a year or so those long hot baths you enjoy now might start to become less frequent, or less appealing. Yoga might just turn into a form of exercise and less about easing pain and quieting your mind.
And breathing exercises might suddenly become calming and relaxing.
None of this is wrong, and none of this means you're failing. This just means that these forms of self-care either need more work or they just aren’t right for your needs at that point in time.
However, because you have tried these you will be better equipped for future mind and body changes. Having this knowledge allows you to go back in the future and try them again, allowing you to create your new self-care routine that your mind and body is needing at that point in time.
This is why we change our boxes bi-monthly because we are giving you a decent chance to trial and error these new forms of self-care. Allowing you to find the best tools to suit your mind and body needs, which in turn will help you improve your overall wellbeing, so you can take back your power and be the driving force in your own life again.