July 24 brings us International Self-care day, a day that focusses on the awareness and importance of self-care and empowers people with knowledge and the ability on how to be proactive participants in their own wellness and wellbeing. To invite self-care tools and practices as regular routines into your life means to grant yourself the agency and independence over your own health, whether it may be to prevent or manage illness. Self-care brings you back to yourself, to leaning in, to listen and to notice what you need this very moment.
Self-care can be defined as "a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being.” It is vital for building resilience towards stress factors in life that are beyond our control. To take care of your body, mind and soul equips you to live life in fullness and acceptance.
Self-care should happen on a daily base, not only when you feel the cold or wave of exhaustion coming up. Especially in challenging times like today, where we are collectively dealing with traumatising global events just as much as any personal challenge on an individual level, the need for self-care and self-awareness has increased significantly.
Everyone who has been swept away by life and work knows that practicing self-care isn’t always the easiest endeavour. Oftentimes we are ‘too busy’, ‘too stressed out’ or too consumed with technology (or confuse it even as downtime) to actually make time for ourselves. Me time is usually last on the list of our everyday lives. A productivity driven life can even bring up feelings of guilt about taking time to take care of ourselves, not acknowledging that rest is just as much a part of the productive and creative process then the ‘doing’ itself.
We asked around our Marketing team what their go to routines are to stay balanced when life gets a bit wonky:
Christina:
My self cafe involves a lot of movement and happy music that inspires me to dance. It always helps to move funky energy – VERY helpful these days! Free-flow journaling with zero censoring, to connect with loved ones to remember that we are not alone. Meditate. Meditate. Meditate.
To sweat and work out, sauna, anything that gets the energy moving and on the opposite of it, to immerse in water (ocean, biopool, water temple) to cleanse and release.
Intan:
I cook. I love cooking and to try to make new delicious things, I love dancing and singing out loud in the bathroom, to take a long bath and pour all the smell good & feel good skincare that I have onto my skin. I love to lay down under a tree and watch the branches and the sky. This feeling when i lay down nearby freshly cut grass! I love the smell, aaaand I currently re-read the book "Who ordered this truckload of dung" :)
Dewi:
I love to play my guitar or ukulele and sing. It is super comforting for me (i don't know about the neighbors though, haha)
And I love getting massages and to spoil myself in the right way 😏
Jay:
I also love to listen to music and dance along, especially while driving. Or watching movie all day long eating gummies. When i have a free time i love to go to the beach to swim and floating around as if I was meditating. Another big one for me is painting and being creative. And of course to play with Witchy (my little kitty) & Mumun, my other precious little fur friend.
Getting started with self-care can oftentimes be a little challenging and overwhelming at first. We’ve put together 17 touchstones to inspire you for better self care on a physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual level.
1. Sleep well
Sleep plays an integral part of your self-care routine and has a huge effect on how you feel emotionally, mentally and physically. A lack of sleep in its worst case scenario can cause major health issues. It is important to identify the factors that could potentially wreak havoc on our sleep. What do you do to create a nightly routine? Hopp of your phone at least 2 hours before sleep time, clear your bedroom from clutter, noise and distractions, wind down after a full blown work day with meditation, Yoga Nidra or gentle stretches.
2.Take ‘gut’ care
Your gut health can have a significant impact on your health, well-being, and feelings of vitality. The types of foods you eat crucially impact the bacteria that live in your stomach, resulting in a cascade of either positive or negative outcomes. A healthy gut makes a happy person.
3. Keep on moving
Ananda Soul team yoga Friday
Daily movement and exercise can help you to reduce stress, blow off steam and keep the energy moving from anxiety to play. Eventually you will also feel lighter, as you might shed some of those extra kilos (and also there is nothing wrong with them).
4. Eat right
You are what you eat. Food can keep us healthy, happy and productive. It can keep our minds working and alert. A wholesome, fresh, organic diet that involves fruits and vegetables can have long-term effects on brain and organ health, mental and emotional stability, preventing inflammation and acidity. The closer to nature, the better (hence non-processed, no preservatives, additives, added sugar etc.)
5. Say no to others and yes to yourself more
To learn to say no to others can often come with a sense of guilt of feeling egocentric or self-centred. Yet, if you’re already stressed or overworked, saying yes to loved ones can lead to burnout, anxiety, irritability and inevitably resentment. A good question to ask is: when I say yes, what do I say no to? Saying no, creates space and boundaries for your own self-care and can invoke a sense of empowerment for standing up for yourself.
6. Let nature work its wonders
To immerse yourself in nature has a calming and grounding effect on the nervous system. Spending time outside, breathing in fresh oxigen and observing the hustle and bustle of nature around you can lower blood pressure, release tension and bring you back into the present moment. Getting your system outside every day will improve your sleep significantly.
7. Cuddle your pet
Nothing is more uplifting for the heart and soothing for the nervous system than cuddling your dog or cat or hamster or guinea pig. Unconditional love and loyal companionship are hugely beneficial to our wellbeing. Also know, that your pet always knows. We have experienced several stories in which pets have been the ones taken care of their humans.
8. Organise yourself
Getting to organise yourself allows you to see the structure of your days and carve out the times that you can dedicate entirely to yourself. To have an organised structure creates less stress and the possibility for you to miss out on any appointments or important tasks.
9. Cook your own food
Get deeply in touch with what you feed yourself with by choosing your ingredients, preparing and being present with all of the steps as you prepare. Make it a ritual, a ceremony and whisper good vibes and intentions to your meal. Self-care, nurture and nourishment come from the inside.
10. Read a book
Get away from the screen by reading a book. Feel its texture, smell its smell (if it is new). Reading will take your brain away from multitasking, inviting in mindfulness and presence, sparking creativity and joy.
11. Have your favorite cup of [fill in the blank]
That moment during the day when you get to kick back (whether it is in the morning before you start into your day, in the middle of the day as a break to replenish yourself or in the evening to wind down – to mindfully sit and drink a cup of tea, hot chocolate or even coffee (only in the morning!) creates little breaks that we often forget to take during busy days.
12. Digital detox
Designate time to be off your screen and offline! In times where we tend to grab our screens to ‘wind down’, it is even more important to let completely go off our devices and turn back to life and everything happening around us and within. Tune into the cycles and rhythms of nature to find calm and de-stress. You can take a digital break anytime during the day. For complete wind-down choose to get off any devices during weekends or holidays. It's a game changer - promise!
13. Paint, doodle or color
Get your hands and fingers dirty with paint, let yourself be guided and inspired by colors, fingers and your intuition. To be creative and tune in with your inner painter is a wonderful way to do something for yourself. Don’t worry about the outcome, the path is the way.
14. Meditate
Even if it is only 10min during the day – to come to stillness once every day can have a world changing effect on your mental, spiritual and emotional help. To meditate, to invite stillness into your being can bring in clarity, discernment and calm emotions and anxiety.
15. Call someone who lights you up
You don’t always have to do it all alone. Self-care doesn’t mean to isolate yourself from the rest of the world. To call someone you love, who has a soothing effect on you or inspires you (or to even spend time with them, if that is available to you) can help you feel more connected, grounded and relaxed.
16. Gratitude journal about the simple things
In busy times we often tend to forget to count our blessings. Gift yourself 10 minutes every day and write down 5-10 things you are currently grateful for. You can watch your energy and perspective shift. We happen to have a great journal made from recycled paper in Bali ( - check out our shop as it comes as a free gift with a purchase over US$250).
17. Treat yourself
What better way to practice self-care then by treating yourself: the piece of cake, the dress, the manicure, the fresh haircut. To treat yourself means to love yourself. We might have a few ideas for self-treat, too (check our bestsellers ;) ).
Comment
Thank you for the very helping ways to take a good care of ourself. It gives me a motivated to be confident person and express what i want to do in mylife , its giving me a relaxing if you’re stressed or have an anxiety.This is very helpful tips that you can be an indipendent person, can take care of yourself , manage of yourself, do whatever you wants as long as you’re happy with it.