Self-Care Rituals - Stay Zen & Balanced

Let me just start by saying, if you know me personally, you already know that I take my self-care seriously. I have found a healthy balance and great importance in practicing self-care. Obviously, I am not perfect and have many days where I lose that balance. Although, when I find myself being conscious about making sure some form of self-care is in my daily routine, I feel 10000% better emotionally, as well as more calm and balanced. Not only is self-care beneficial to your mental and emotional health, but your body, mind, and skin will thank you too.

Alright, now let's get to it. This post is simple, so listed below are my personal favorite forms of self-care.

SKINCARE - Take your time.

Obviously, I am a skincare junkie. But, when I take time out of my evening (or morning) to actually sit down in front of my mirror and do an elaborate skincare routine, it's just calming. Not only that but my skin will continue to improve the more I do it.

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MEDITATION AND PRAYER

Personally, I am religious so meditation and prayer blend together for me. Whether you are religious or not, meditation is still an incredible tool to help calm your mind and nervous system. Typically, I will find a comfy spot to sit or lay down, say a simple prayer (usually for whatever I'm struggling with at that time), hold some crystals in my hands, and focus on my breathing. I will usually put on a guided meditation too once I gain control of my breath. I use the app Aura and honestly, I love it. I paid for it and I regret nothing. There are guided meditations for every emotion/situation and I find it extremely helpful. I also find crystals useful when meditating because they can literally calm and rebalance the energy in my body. (I'll do a blog post on crystals in the near future to give you the full rundown). If you don't have crystals, don't worry! Meditation still works without them, it's just a personal preference of mine.

LONG AND MINDFUL SHOWERS

Yep, you read that correctly. Showering is very relaxing for most people.

Although, often I will just be worried about washing my hair and thinking about things I need to do once I get out of the shower. When I take time to be present, enjoy the water, and picture the water cleansing the negative energy from my body, then I feel much more at peace. If you want to elevate your calm vibes in your shower, try adding mood lights; whether this is on the outside of your shower or in your showerhead, this can add to the whole vibe. (Yes, I said showerhead... shop here and thank me later). Another thing to try is adding an aromatherapy spray of some kind or steamers. Steamers are essentially mini bath bombs that you set on the floor of your shower and when they dissolve, they deliver aromatherapy into your shower steam (eucalyptus and peppermint steamers are AMAZING for clearing sinuses too). Personally, nothing beats mood lights, some chill music, and a shower steamer for a peaceful shower ritual.

Shop shower steamers here

CALMING ACTIVITIES - Scrolling through Pinterest, painting, etc.

This isn't going to be exactly the same for every person obviously, but do you ever wish you could turn your mind off, forget about everything you have to do, and just take the time to do something you genuinely enjoy? Well, you can do it. For me, I find it extremely relaxing to scroll through Pinterest to look at home decor. I also find painting insanely calming. I will usually scroll through Pinterest every night before bed to relax. Some days, I will give myself the whole day to do activities like this. That might mean I sleep in, make coffee and breakfast, do my skincare, paint, take a nap, meditate, organize, journal, order take out or make my favorite meal, I mean I could go on. This will look different for everyone, but just know that it is OKAY AND ACCEPTABLE to take an hour break to paint and it is more than okay to take a whole day off if that is what you need. 99.9% of the time, I will find myself much more productive the next day if I take the previous day off to do anything and everything I genuinely enjoy doing. Personally, I don't really plan these days, I just do what feels right, but if planning feels right to you, then by all means DO IT.

HANG OUT WITH ANIMALS & WITH MOTHER NATURE

If you're an animal person at all, you know being around animals can be insanely fun, but also stress-reliving. I am lucky and actually live down the street from a cat lounge where I can go and chill with cats anytime I want. Look for places like this in your area because you never know what might be out there! If you don't have a pet, maybe it's the right time to adopt one, or maybe a friend of yours will let you love on their fur baby. No matter who's animal you love on, cat and dog therapy has been proven to be extremely helpful. (I would link an article, but there are literally so many out there). If animals aren't your cup of tea, explore mother nature. Being in nature has also been proven to be calming and detoxifying for the mind and body. Nature's energy is pure and will likely ground you, and help you regain your balance, all while giving you energy at the same time. Nature is truly incredible and if you have access to the outdoors, I would highly recommend hanging out outside at least once a week to help stay at peace and keep your energy balanced. Clearly, I can't say enough good things about animals and nature, but it is because they always help me, no matter what.

These are just a few of the main self-care rituals I enjoy doing and I hope that they can bring you peace as they have done for me. Still interested in self-care or want to chat? Feel free to message me on Instagram (@katymalak).

Until next time,

Katy