Looking for self-care ideas for women and our unique needs? Check out our list of unique ideas to help you prioritize your well-being.
In today's world, it seems virtually impossible to escape two things: 1) busyness and 2) stress. We're constantly inundated with emails, notifications, text messages, zoom calls, instant chats, and family and work obligations. And that's just the shortlist.
This post contains 5 self-care ideas for women to help you reset, recharge, and feel like your best self. From self-reflecting endeavors to outdoor activities that will help you prioritize your well-being and promote a positive mindset.
Self-care doesn't need to involve a 14-step skincare routine or spending an entire day at a lavish spa (of course, that can be lovely, too!). If you focus on incorporating a few simple moments of self-care throughout the week, you're more likely to keep up with doing what makes you feel your best.
These small moments will add up, helping you feel more grounded and connected to yourself, what you love, and who you love.
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What Is Self-Care?
At the core, self-care is an opportunity to renew and nourish your soul. To choose activities—or choose to remove activities—that are meaningful to you and that will help you to feel relaxed, refreshed, and connected to your best self.
Self-care is individual to you. What benefits you mentally and physically may not be the same for everyone else.
Focus on activities that personally fulfill you
Make sure your chosen self-care activities are realistic, practical, and fit into your typical weekly routine
Keep in mind that self-care is not the same thing as overindulging. While eating an entire box of chocolates may seem great at the moment, it will not help you feel your best in the long run.
Self-care doesn't need to be an expensive or a significant time investment
Listen to what your body needs physically and mentally, and this may change by the day, week or season, so don't be too rigid with your routine
5 Self-Care Ideas for Women
1) Walking
Walking is a great form of self-care on many levels. Moving your body will help you to relieve stress and anxiety while releasing feel-good endorphins to boost your mood. Walking gives you an opportunity to:
- Get outside and enjoy nature
- Take some time for yourself
- Get some much-needed Vitamin D. Suggested Reading: 5 Signs You Might Be Vitamin D Deficient & What To Do If You Are
- Give yourself a break from staring at screens
- Feed your mind by listening to an audiobook or podcast. Audible Plus has an endless number of books whether your a looking to get motivated or lose yourself in a great novel.
Amazon now offers Audible Plus, a monthly membership that includes access to unlimited streaming and listening from the Audible Plus Catalog. You can also save titles to your Library or download to listen off-line.
2) Meditating
Meditation doesn't only have to be sitting in a quiet corner tuning out your thoughts. And you certainly don't need to meditate for an entire hour! Even just a few minutes can make a big difference. If you find yourself struggling with traditional meditation, you may find this post helpful One Step That Will Noticeably Improve Your Meditation Practice.
If you are new to meditation, guided meditations are a great place to start with a balance of instruction, reminders to stay focused, and empty, silent space.
Calm is one of several popular meditation apps though if you're looking for a no-cost way to start your meditation journey, Calm's official YouTube channel offers an assortment of soothing videos. If you're just starting your meditation practice, start with the quick and easy-to-follow Daily Calm 10-minute meditations.
If you're not the type to sit still for more than a few minutes, walking meditations are also a great alternative for introducing mindfulness into your day. Spotify has quite a few options for guided walking meditations to take with you on the go.
3) Tidying and Decluttering
When you're stressed or anxious, cleaning up may not be your first thought when it comes to improving your mood. However, choosing just one room, or even a corner of a room, to declutter is an easy way to reduce stress. Removing items that no longer benefit or serve you can benefit your mental health by making you feel calmer, happier, and more in control. A tidier space makes for a more relaxed mind.
- Keep the project small and plan ahead (don't attempt to declutter your entire kitchen, just choose a drawer or two)
- Review the space and categorize the area you are decluttering into things to keep, maybes, and things you are ready to donate.
- Reorganize and dust off the keeps
- Place the maybes in a hall closet or under your bed for a couple of weeks
- If you don't miss them, you know you're ready to donate them
- For the things you're ready to donate, keep a bin or box in an area by your front door or garage (someplace you pass by often) where you can easily place things you are ready to part with. When the bin is full, place it in the car and stop by your favorite place to donate while on your weekly errands.
- Putting on some music you love, lighting a calming candle, or turning on your favorite TV show in the background will make the time fly by
4) Breathwork
If you're not familiar with the term, breathwork is any type of exercise or technique involving breathing intentionally and systematically. It's completely free and accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
We involuntarily breathe every day all day but rarely give our breath much thought as to how it can affect the way we think and feel. Breathing doesn't just fill your lungs with oxygen to help you stay alive. It can also have a drastic impact on your mood. Our breath creates an electrical rhythm that directly impacts our brain waves.
Breathwork is beneficial to our overall health and well-being. When focusing on deep breathing, you are able to release toxins and stress while encouraging more oxygen into your lungs and bloodstream to better nourish your mind and body.
Interested in trying breathwork? Wim Hof has several YouTube videos with free breathing exercises, but this eleven-minute guided breathing session is the perfect place to start as a beginner.
Northwestern University also has a completely free resource, BREATHE, (while the site says it's for graduate and professional students, anyone can access the resources on their website), with excellent guided meditations and breathing practices specifically designed to alleviate stress and anxiety.
5) Give Yourself An At Home Beauty Treatment
Giving yourself a pedicure or soaking in a hot tub does wonders for lifting your mood. Looking to incorporate something new into your routine? Here is a short list of self-care ideas at home that you can do in under an hour.
Give yourself an at-home facial
Drunk Elephant Littles Night Out Evening Skin Kit
A biocompatible skincare regime that works to resurface, smooth and hydrate the skin. The set features a gel cleanser, exfoliating serum, hydrating serum and a moisturizer.
Show your scalp some love with a hair oil mask. Suggested reading: The 3 Best Natural Hair Oils for Shinier, Healthier Locks
Joon Saffron Hair Elixir Pistachio + Rose Hair Oil
Treat your senses with this heavenly hair oil made from saffron, rose, and pistachio. A century-old Persian hair care secret, your hair will soak up this lavish oil.
- Exfoliate from head to toe
Esker - Body Plane Tool
While this may look like something that belongs in your kitchen, it actually is one of the best ways to exfoliate your skin and give yourself an all-over massage. Its colloidal sterling silver edge gently scrapes away dead skin, dullness, and impurities.
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