How To Be More Mindful With Your Self Care

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I talk about self care so much that the actual phrase “self care” has started to sound weird when I say it out loud. Kinda like if you say your own name too much and it starts to lose all sense of meaning. But self care has become one of the most important things in my life, especially after the train wreck that was 2020.

But one thing I’ve been really working to remove from my life lately is mindless self care. I feel that self care is talked about SO much and so many suggestions of how we can practice it are presented to us that we kinda forget to remember what it really means. On a deeper and more personal level, what self care means to US.

Mindfulness is something else I’ve been working hard on practicing more and when you combine the two… boy oh boy, it can be an absolute game changer. So today I wanted to share a few ways in which we can be more mindful with our self care. This will be particularly helpful to those who feel like they’re “going through the motions” when it comes to self care and how to practice it.

Here are 5 tips to help you be more mindful when practicing self care:

Listen to your body

And I mean REALLY listen to it. What is it telling you? What is your soul and everything your soul encompasses alerting you to? It’s very easy to notice when we have a headache or stomach ache but it’s time to go deeper. To feel deeper. This is where Yoga practice comes in really handy, as it helps you become much more aware of your body and the sensations you feel. More awareness means that you can act accordingly.

Related read: Yoga With Adriene Practices For Every Mood

Be more mindful of the products you’re using

And let’s continue with this point about acting accordingly. There are an endless amount of products that can aid our self care, from skincare routines to fancy oils to bath bombs. But in order to uplevel your mindfulness in your self care practice, it might be a good idea to start with the products you’re using. Are you using the correct type of products for your skin type? Are you using products with a ton of chemicals in?

This is where the wonderful brand of today’s post comes in very nicely because their amazing range of products are able to aid you in specific areas, depending on your needs. Something that is very helpful and relevant to what we’re talking about today. BetterYou specializes in supplements of various nutrition that have been underrepresented or omitted due to our current lifestyle.

The current products from BetterYou that I’m trying are from their Transdermal Magnesium range. Magnesium helps promote a stronger body and helps relieve muscle tension, spasms, reduces tiredness and fatigue and promotes sleep. 80% of people 65 and over are magnesium deficient and 53% of teenage girls have a gross deficiency. Clearly magnesium deficiency is an across the board problem.

I do a lot of exercise and Yoga so I’m not new to a muscle ache. In fact I have chronic lower back pain and suffer from upper back pain, tightness and muscle aches as well. I don’t think a day has gone by in 4 or 5 years where I’ve not felt some sort of back pain. Through the skin magnesium intake is an effective way to improve magnesium levels and is exactly what I needed.

The range consists of a range of products, from body oil, bath flakes, body lotion, body butter and more. There’s also specially formulated products for sensitive skin and juniors. I received the bath flakes, body lotion and oil and I’m thoroughly enjoying adding them to my routine. I’ve noticed a difference in the tightness and achiness of my muscles with regular use.

Products are Vegan and palm oil free as well as having sustainable packaging made from plant-based plastic. So these really are suitable for most people! Check out their full magnesium range here!

Don’t follow the crowd for the sake of it

A huge part of being more mindful of your self care practicies is not following what everyone else is doing just for the sake of it or because it sounds like the “right thing to do”. Bubble baths are often presented to us as an effective method of self care which will help to relax you but if you don’t like baths… it’s pointless having one. You’re just going to get hot and irritable and feel worse than you did before.

So keep that in mind next time you’re practicing self care. Ask yourself, are you doing this because you REALLY want to or need to? Or just because everyone else said it was a good thing to do on their blogs?

Make your own rules

And very much following on from the point above, self care is about YOU. The SELF. In order to be more mindful about your practice, you need to make your own rules. For this part, it’s worth thinking about; what time of day are you most in need of self care? What practices work well for you and what can you eliminate? What areas of self care are you struggling the most with?

Related read: 4 Areas of Self Care You Should Be Focusing On

Don’t neglect the difficult stuff

And finally, self care isn’t always pretty. Self care is NOT always a Insta-perfect bubble bath with candles and a good book. Sometimes, self care is messy. It’s difficult. It’s heart-wrenching and heart-breaking. But I urge you not to neglect the difficult stuff. Self care can often be painted as a light and fluffy way to take care of ourselves but when you get to the root of it, it goes MUCH deeper than that.

I learned a lot about that when I started life coaching last year. One of my sessions went really deep into something I didn’t even realise was a problem. I uncovered a lot about myself and it was one of the most powerful self care sessions I’ve ever had. And yes, it was messy. And uncomfortable. But vital.

Will you be taking any of these tips on board for this year in order to be more mindful with your self care practice?