The Four Foundations of Complete Self Care

In the past, the term or phrase "self care" has seemed like a curse word for me. YES! Four years into being a successful yoga studio owner while having consistent practice of yoga, I would hear the word "self care" and want to run for the hills. Makes me laugh now. 

Very simply, I knew that while I was 'doing' the things, I was still missing out on complete self care. I still was talking negatively to myself, found myself constantly running myself into the ground with too much work and not enough pauses. I knew that though on the outside many likely thought self care was easy for me, it was so far from the truth. If it takes you getting a cold to shut your body down for rest, this is the place you need to be. 

Trust me! From someone who would only stop going non-stop, that letting your body fail to tell you its time to rest is not the way to go. What if, we could achieve all the important goals in our life, while living in a body and mind that is running with ease. Self Care is the answer. 

What is Self Care?

Think about self care as a series of habits that fit into your routine to help you be completely present and thriving in your body. We are not talking about adding another thing to your to-do list. Let's face it, we don't need another check on the list of life. 

"What we DO need is a set of habits that support us in living the life we want."

Present mentally for our kids. Thriving physically to support our family and our professional goals. Connected through community and a system of support. That's the self care we will be helping you setup. 

More of a visual learner? Check out our YouTube on the same subject to learn more.

Our Self Care Menu

To simplify, we see that there are four main components of self care or what we call foundations. They create a menu of self care that we can reference and chose from when we know that something needs a tweak. The four foundations are:

• Mindfulness
• Movement
• Nutrition
• Community

I'll walk you though a very brief overview of each foundation and then be on the lookout for more in-depth videos and blog posts in the near future as we dive even deeper into each foundations. For now, let's start with a broad overview to get you more acquainted.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is very simply being present in the present moment, in your body, connected to your breath. It is a simple concept that is very hard to practice in real life as we experience the pull of a beeping phone, unpleasant interaction and the itch to check the news as a form of distraction.

In the present moment, enjoying our life NOW. This is mindfulness.

In our Self Care System, we will focus on several tactics to help promote mindfulness. However, we have found that the best practice to develop mindfulness is a daily meditation practice.

While this can be intimidating for some, what we do is take the intimidation factor out of meditation to make it accessible to all.

Examples of what meditation could look like:

• 1 minute transition from carpool to entering the house at the end of the day - envision how you want to interact with your loved ones upon entering - set the intention
• 5-10 mins connecting to your breath in the morning
• Slow walk in the neighborhood without devices noticing the sights & sounds around you
• Listening to a guided meditation w/in our Self Care app or another app

We encourage you to take a pause in the next 5 mins to practice one of these and let us know how you feel after. 

Nutrition & Self Care

What you put in is what you get out. Eating foods that support your body is a vital component to complete self care. If we are feeding our body foods that do not support us, what we are getting back from that food is mental fog, sluggishness and a heaviness that is hard to overcome. Whereas, if we are fueling our bodies with whole foods that support our total wellbeing we gain clarity, energy and that bounce in our step that we are all after. 

Eating well for your body is much more than the physical component of fitting into your favorite clothes, though that feeling of confidence in your clothes is such an amazing feeling. Eating yummy, delicious & nutritious foods will positively affect your entire life and has a deep element of mindfulness embedded within it. When we are mindful about what our body needs for nutrition, we can better support our bodies with the right foods it needs. 

We will find that many of our foundational self care elements weave into each other and will be super fun to explore in our upcoming conversations. 

In our monthly membership, we will provide monthly meal plans and recipe ideas that will help support a well-rounded self care practice. If you're curious, there is a free sample in our freebie library to checkout. 

Movement & Self Care

 My go-to self care tactic is easily movement. We call it movement instead of exercise as movement looks different for everybody. 

Movement can be:

• Yoga
• HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
• Walking
• Riding your bike
• Exercise classes at home
• Exercise classes at a studio/gym
• What feels good for YOU!

Benefits of Exercise:

• Better Sleep
• Reduced risk of heart disease
• Improve mental health & mood
• Help manage blood sugar
• Help control weight
• SO MANY MORE

Creating a routine around movement is the key. What I have found key is to make it a habit by creating a cue with a bigger purpose in order to ensure that my habit of self care through movement is completed. Finding the right kind of movement that feels good in your body, fun to complete and not a chore is the secret sauce to making this self care practice one that is consistent. 

Tell us in the comments below what your favorite form of movement is and let's share the love for moving our bodies. 

Community Supporting Self Care

Community is one that is a struggle for me as an introvert who really likes her own space. That only means that I have to try harder and be more intentional about creating and maintaining my community. 

What's so important about community is that social connection. The sharing of hardships, joys and experiences. This is something that we mostly went without in 2020 and I believe that only shed more light on how important this understated aspect of our life is in creating a holistic wellbeing. 

One way I mindfully create a supportive community filled with joy is by sharing, gathering people who share in the love of wellness. That's what this is - TA DA! :) However, on a more serious note, please know that this community is one created to support you in your self care journey. The more we share and connect together, learning from each other, the more we gain in this bigger picture called life. 

We are so glad you are here and can't wait to learn more about you. 

The Short Story

So, very simply, we have four main foundations of Self Care: Mindfulness, Movement, Nutrition, and Community. Each interplay with each other and weave to create a stronger Self Care practice. 

The key to this is that Self Care looks different for everyone and also looks different for you, the individual, depending on what is going on in your life. What works for you today, looks different than what worked a year ago and will look different a year from now. That's why we explore all four foundations so that you have a menu that works for you at every stage. 

We are so glad you are here and can't wait to see you in our Self Care Community soon.