As a nurse, I neglected my own self-care, putting others' needs before my own. I did not recognize this until my body got sick and had enough. Inflammation, arthritis, and stomach issues prevailed until I stopped and listened. This post talks about rituals of self-care and natural beauty recipes for that radiant glow inside and out. But before we dive into the external, let’s talk about real beauty for a minute.
If there’s one thing my personal self-care rituals have taught me, it is that you must, absolutely must, take the time to nurture yourself each and every day. These little daily rituals are really meditations on self-love. When we dedicate time daily to nourish our bodies and souls, we cultivate a deep respect and love for ourselves. And when we radiate deep love for ourselves and others – isn’t this the heart of true natural beauty? We can apply all sorts of organic, chemical-free creams, eat every known superfood, green smoothies, and spend 8 hours a week in hot yoga classes – but if we don’t love ourselves at the end of the day, then what’s the point?
We all have routines, and most women have some sort of “beauty routine” in the mornings or evenings. But how much time do we spend in those moments really being present with ourselves and giving thanks to our bodies for being healthy and working hard every day?
After all my different illnesses, I gradually stepped up my morning routine and turned it into an act of self-love. I spend 30 minutes or so in the morning working through a series of practices that get me feeling so good by the end it’s hard not to love yourself and others a little bit more. I know it's not practical in our modern world to take that amount of time for yourself before work and kids, perhaps 5 or 10 minutes is all you have? Let’s start there. Maybe you will find something in my routine that you might like to do or create your own.
Wake Up
You must rise in order to start your day! If you can get to sleep before 10pm, it’s recommended to wake before the sun rises. According to Ayurveda, there are specific times that are best to wake for each different body type, your Prakriti.
Vata types: 6am
Pitta types: 5:30am
Kapha types: 4:30am
Daily Intention
Before you race out of bed, take a few moments to set an intention for your day, a focus or theme you hope to carry forward with you once you get out from under the covers. I believe this work’s and even says to your subconscious “Today is going to be a great day”!
Sip Warm Water
Heat up some water in your kettle and sip a glass of warm water with a squeeze of lime juice and ¼ cup of aloe vera juice if your bowels are slow to move. Lime juice and aloe work to alkalize your system and stimulate your digestion.
Elimination
What goes in must come out. Elimination is the key to optimal health. Before you race off to your coffee and emails, make sure you create time and a quiet space to release everything from your previous day – or even week sometimes. The body loves routine, give it that in the mornings. Self-massage on the abdomen and deep slow breathing into the belly is a wonderful way to gently stimulate a bowel movement.
Wash the Face
Splash the face with cold water to stimulate circulation to the skin. Dry your face gently with a clean towel. Spritz with rosewater afterward. (Research - cold water face immersion: immerse your forehead eyes and at least 2/3 of both cheeks into cold water. This elicits the vagus nerve, decreasing heart rate, stimulating the intestines and turns on the immune system)
Tongue Scraping
Using a stainless steel or copper tongue scraper, scrape the tongue 7-14 times to remove the built up plaque and bacteria from the tongue before brushing the teeth or oil pulling.
Oil Pulling
This is a powerful practice of gargling/swishing oil around the mouth to remove bacteria from the teeth and improve gum health. You can use coconut oil or untoasted sesame oil. Coconut oil is an antifungal and is usually recommended for this practice. It’s also lighter and easier to swish around in the mouth. Take 1-2 tablespoons, and without swallowing, circulate around the mouth for 5-20 minutes. The full practice is 20 minutes, but it takes a few weeks to build up to this. Brush your teeth well after spitting the oil out.
Garshana
Garshana, or dry skin brushing, is the practice of brushing your skin with raw silk or a natural vegetable bristle brush to remove dead skin and stimulate lymph drainage in the body. Start at your feet and work your way towards the heart with gentle pressure.
Oleation (Abhyanga)
After scrubbing the dry body for 5-10 minutes, apply a very liberal amount of natural, food-based oils like sesame or ashwagandha oil, which is great for vata types, coconut-based oils for pitta types, or a lighter sunflower oil for kapha types. Oiling the skin before you shower also protects your body's natural oils.
Bath
Our daily showers or baths are an act of cleansing; we remove past impurities we no longer want to hold on to both in the body and in the mind.
Meditate
Take 5 minutes to be still. Sit with yourself and observe what is present today. If you have a longer meditation practice, do this! If you prefer a moving meditation (yoga, tai chi, running), go for this and try to approach it with a still and clear mind.
Kapalbhati Breathing
I do 3 minutes of Kapali breathing on an empty stomach. This improves your circulation, moves stuck energy and stagnation. You will feel amazing mentally and physically afterwards!
Stretching
I do 15 minutes of functional mobility exercises, some of which I do before I ever leave the bed. Rolling side to side, windshield wipers with hips, happy baby, forward fold, back bends supported by pillows. My exercises are a combination of yoga and Pilates. The remainder I do on the yoga mat, which would be Pilates targeted to core, arms, thighs, or bum depending on what my body needs more on that day. We can discuss further in our consultation.
Breakfast
Take some hot herbal tea to stimulate digestion like cumin, coriander, and fennel tea and enjoy a breakfast of your choice. Whatever it is, try to keep this same mindfulness as you chew each bite.
Okay, so maybe this sounds like a lot to get started with. If you’re worried about not having enough time in the morning, pick 2 activities to start with and see how you can integrate more once you’re comfortable with your morning routine. You can also break them up and do a few in the evening, like your self-oil massage practice. But most importantly, if you take anything away from this, remember to create a space of self-love as you move through any practice – that’s the most important thing!
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