You might be wondering what self-care and self-love have to do with Living Meatless but trust me it does!
The number one reason why people choose to refrain from eating or using animal products is because they love and care for animals so much they can’t bear the thought of supporting industries that cause animal suffering. I get that! I also can’t fathom the thought; however, in the mission to save the animals many vegans and vegetarians forget to take care of themselves. Myself included…
If you have chosen to live meatless for this reason it is important that you love yourself just as much as you love the animals! When you love yourself first then you are better able to love and do great things for all living things…the animals as well as other humans.
When you love yourself you will also be better equipped to have love an compassion for the people who do terrible things to other humans and animals. It’s when you are able to show this love and compassion no matter what is when true change in the world happens!
Just like Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
In this blog I will discuss nine habits you can start today to show yourself some more love.
Why is self-care so important?
Self-care is something that is not a one-and-done type of thing. It’s something you will want to do on a regular basis. By slowing down and taking care of yourself you are able to shut down the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and turn on your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). The more time your body spends under parasympathetic control the more relaxed you are, stress hormone levels drop and you will have a higher overall sense of well-being.
This does not mean that you take a few days off to rest once you get a cold or get hurt then get right back into your crazy schedule…it means taking a few minutes every day to do something for yourself. It also means scheduling some longer pampering time or relaxation time just for yourself every week. Perhaps it also means booking a trip once every three to four months to fully allow yourself some time to get away, enjoy yourself and see something new.
Think of the times you have actually done this… had a few days off to travel, took a bubble bath or just spent some time in a yoga class. Doesn’t it feel glorious and refreshing? Well, it’s time to start scheduling this in to your calendar because when self-care becomes a habit you will be more relaxed, happier, healthier and better able to focus on the things that mean a lot to you such as volunteering at an animal shelter or educating people about the importance of making the switch to a plant-based lifestyle.
Why Am I Writing About This Topic?
Self-care is always something that has been difficult for me. For many years I battled with binge eating disorder and body dysmorphic disorder, which are eating disorders that many people live with every day. After many years of alternative therapy I soon came to understand that much of the reason why I struggled with these disorders was from my lack of self-love. Which I knew to be true because every time I looked in the mirror I would wince at how fat or ugly I was. I was obsessed with looking at myself in the mirror but yet hated how I looked. I could find anything about myself to criticize.
This was no way to live and I am saddened that so many people in the world today are struggling with these, and other, disorders that cause people to hate their bodies and themselves overall so much.
I learned from many coaches and therapists various tools to release these disorders and the biggest key to my success was self-care. Taking time to sit in silence and meditate on my thoughts and what I was grateful for helped me more than I would ever know. Taking time to just laugh, play and have some fun alway made me feel better. Rather than hating my food I learned to play and have fun with my food, which lead me to writing two cookbooks that I self-published and are available on Amazon.
Because I have spent the last few years working on self-care I am now able to live life fairly free from the clutches of these disorders. Don’t get me wrong, I still have to deal with stress and am still finding new ways to relax my body and embrace more self-care activities but at least now I know how to do it.
My wish for you is that these few self-care activities will help kick start you into wanting to take better care of yourself so you can love yourself and therefore love and have compassion for others.
Nine Self-Care Habits To Start Doing Right Now
- Sit in silence. Taking time to sit in silence, even if only for a few minutes a day, is one of the most calming and healing activities you can do for yourself. You may choose to do a short meditation, read a good book, have a bath or just unplug from all electronics, close your eyes and enjoy the silence while tuning in to your breathing and heart beat. For these few moments all you need to do is relax and release. If you haven’t already…please click here to gain access to my FREE course where I share with you five different meditations you can do each day.
- Take time to play. Kids have it right! All they do is want to play but at some point in our adult lives we lose the ability, or desire, to play. Research shows that taking time to play and goof around is very beneficial for your health and wellness. Some large companies even have play rooms in the office designed to give employees a chance to release some excess stress and energy and recharge the brain so they will be more productive when they get back to work. So, play with your dog, your kids or your friends and have some fun!
- Move your body. Moving the body has been shown to be one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health and wellness. This may simply be dancing with yourself, your partner, your cat or dog in the living room to your favourite song. Or perhaps go for a run, lift weights at the gym or do some flow yoga. Whatever you choose to do make it enjoyable and do it every day. To get great benefits you do not have to do high intensity activity all the time. As a matter of fact of you are trying to bring your stress levels down a more low-intensity activity may be even more beneficial as it will help turn off the sympathetic nerves system and turn on the parasympathetic nervous system. However, if you have a more sedentary job a higher intensity workout may be best for you.
- Have a good laugh. Have you ever watched a really funny movie or heard a joke that had you bent over, clutching your core and laughing so hard you couldn’t breathe and started to cry (in a good way)? Laughing has been shown by research to be a extremely beneficial thing to do to release stress and enhance your health and wellness. Yet, at some point so many of us became overly serious. It’s ok to be silly. It’s ok to laugh. Do it often.
- Play with animals. If you have a pet you know how good it feels to sit and rub their belly or play with them. Animals are amazing little creatures as they often know what we need. Have you ever had a rough day and your dog, or cat, came and sat quietly on your lap and when you start petting him or her you feel a sense of peace? This is why many animals are used in therapeutic settings because they have a sense of calm and unconditional love about them that we need in our lives. If you don’t have an animal hit up an animal rescue foundation and so some volunteer work or agree to take care of a friends animal for a couple of days. If you are unable to play with an animal maybe even take some time to look at funny videos of animals playing. This will also get you laughing and we already know how good that is for you, right?
- Help someone else. You might be thinking, “how is helping someone else going to be self-care for me?” That is a valid question. Here is the key… you helping someone in a way that you expect nothing in return is a very satisfying act of kindness that will do you more good that you will ever know. This act of service is also called Karma Yoga and is very good for the soul. It’s the pay it forward concept…do something nice for people without expecting anything in return, they in turn will feel this love from you and do the same for someone else. Maybe you see an elderly person struggling to cross the street… take amount to stop and help. I am sure he or she would be so grateful. Maybe you buy the person behind you in line at the Starbucks their coffee that day or call up a friend and volunteer to help them with something you know they need help on. No strings attached. The more often you do this the more your heart and soul will be filled with love and gratitude and will result in greater health and happiness.
- Go on a little get away. Take a moment to look at your schedule. When was the last time you got away on a little vacation? I don’t mean you have to go on a high expensive trip but even just taking a day or two to go hiking, camping or even just jumping in the car on an impromptu road trip and seeing where it takes you and what experience you will end up having. Taking this time for yourself to clear your head, refocus and get out of the daily grind is a great way to get some self-care time that will have you come back feeling completely refreshed. I find that these little getaways help me realize what I am grateful for and gives me a clear head to see what sort of things need to change to make things better.
- Spend time with people you love. Although having alone time is very healing and is necessary for self-care making time in yours schedule to spend time with the people you love is also very important. Now days with all the social media we may feel like we are connected to each other but it is a false connection. Personally, I have felt quite isolated even though I have very active connections on social media because I crave the personal face-to-face time with my friends and family that I had when I was a kid or teenager. It seems like it’s hard to get people to come together to socialize due to the active schedules we all have. However, I know from personal experience if things don’t get booked in to a calendar they will never happen. So, make a point to call up your friends and family and book them in for a dinner or a simple visit. Even if you can’t get your schedules to align for three months when that time comes you will be happy you are sending your time with them.
- Make a healthy change to your diet. A huge part of self-care and self-love is taking care of your body and one of the most simple ways to do this is to be conscious of what you put in your body. When the body is clean and clear of toxic food and substances your body will relax, de-stress and release inflammation, which is the root cause of all disease. I am not suggesting that you have to make a huge overhaul in your diet over night but I would suggest that you take a look at what you are eating on a daily basis and recognize if there are thing you could eliminate and replace with healthier options. Start with choosing one item per week and before you know it your whole diet will be different, you will feel amazing and be happier and healthier without ever feeling deprived. If you are unsure how to get started please sign up to gain FREE access to my online Mind-Body Upgrade course, if you haven’t already, as this will help you get started.
In Conclusion…
As you have just learned there are endless ways to show yourself a little love. By just taking a few minutes a day to do one, or more, of these self-care activities you will begin to release stress, reduce inflammation, release excess weight and become a role model and inspiration to others as you become happier and healthier.
If you have a favourite self-care activity that was not mentioned here please leave a comment below as I am always looking for new ideas.
Want help tracking your self-care activities to enhance your process? Save the FREE, no-strings attached, 30-day self-care activity calendar picture below. Want a PDF copy? Click here to download now!
