by Laura Plumb | January 24, 2017 4:03 am
2017. Add the numbers and you get 10. With that as its promise, this year is out of the gates with gusto. We have big dreams, big ideas, big projects and big missions this year so let’s we re-dedicate ourselves to self-care.
For a 10 year these are my top ten self-care practices to start strong, and bump your days to a ten.
1) Breath
“In the early morning when I first wake up, I like to lie in bed for a moment and listen. Silence, bird song, dawn breaking, the day coming alive is always revealing itself in new and loving ways. I take a few deep breaths, feel myself alive, and feel this new day breathing through me.”
Breathe deep. Breathe slow and full. Breathe light, love and gratitude into your whole being and feel what a miracle you are. Let every inhalation be an affirmation, every exhalation a release, a letting go.
Deep breaths help clear the lungs, oxygenate blood flow and calm the nervous system. We’re doing it every moment – but do it with awareness and it becomes the best medicine you’ve got.
2) Center
Say a prayer, meditate, write in your journal, visualize a flame at your heart center, or listen to the silence within. See your inner beauty, feel your aliveness, imagine a day full of possibility. Remember, it’s a ten.
3) Enliven
Splash your face with cold water. Cup water to your open eyes to clear & refresh. Fill the palm of your hand with water and hold it to your open eye, one at a time. Repeat five times. Ayurveda says our eyes relate to the liver making it an easy morning cleanse. Plus, they are the window to your soul, and we all know windows are best when they let the light shine.
4) Swish
Oral hygiene isn’t complete with just one toothbrush. For whole mouth health, spoon an ounce of sesame or coconut oil into your mouth and swish for 15 minutes. Want whiter teeth? Do the same with turmeric stirred into the oil. Cleaner breath? Add a drop of tea tree or peppermint oil. Make it fun? Dance in rhythm. Do the Swish.
5) Rejuvenate
Massage your whole body with sesame oil, let it absorb for 15 minutes, then shower.
6) Circulate
Start your day with movement: Yoga, a brisk walk, joyful dance, a swim … and feel your heart pulse with energy and life. We all know it’s necessary. What matters is that it feels so good.
7) Hydrate
Everything about winter is drying, from the colder temperatures, the brisk winds and the indoor heating. Add the juice of a lemon to a mug of hot water and sip at regular intervals throughout the day, at least every 15 minutes, to keep yourself juicy. Or try my recipe for a morning winter wellness tonic to hydrate light, and delicious.
8) Ignite
Ignite your digestive fire by drinking with your meals. If you tend to run hot already, mint or fennel tea will boost digestion while maintaining your awesome cool.
9) Sleep
Your days start better when your sleep is productive. Get to bed by 10pm and aim for 8 hours of restful sleep. Listening to sweet music, a guided visualization or Yoga Nidra will help.
10) Cycle
Align with nature’s rhythms. Live seasonally. Cultivate quiet and warmth in winter; heat and movement in spring; ease and chill in summer; slow and steady in autumn. Eat seasonally, too. All of the world’s healthiest food traditions are based on the seasons!
These self-care practices are really self-love practices. They will help you love you more. That will help you cultivate more love within so you have more love to share. And I hope you will do that, because more than ever the world needs all the love it can get.
Let’s love, and let’s make it a 10!
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Please join me at the .
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