Tips for Self Care
My name is Jessica Sawyer, my business is Conscious Calling. I have been a wellbeing practitioner and yoga teacher in Liverpool for over seven years now. I teach Pregnancy Yoga at the wonderful Baby Bear’s Den.
Elisa has asked me to guest write an article on some useful self- care tips.
I hope you find some of the following useful and if anyone wants to know more about this or other ways to help with anxiety, stress, physical ailments or general enquiries relating to wellbeing please do get in touch or like/ follow me on my business pages:
Intstagram: https://www.instagram.com/consciouscallin/?hl=en
Website: www.consciouscalling.com
At the moment I have an online monthly subscription for The Self Love Sanctuary where you receive Yoga, Meditation, Relaxation and a share circle to help you learn about, practice and commit more regularly to your self-care. To find out more please see:
I am also an ambassador for Tropic Skincare which is a perfect way to start giving yourself that bit more that you deserve along with helping create a more greener, sustainable planet by investing in makeup and skincare which is completely natural and doesn’t put harmful chemicals into your body, face or into the Earth.
To find out more please see: https://www.tropicskincare.com/pages/jessicasawyer
At this time many of us suffer from stress and anxiety and in my experience this is heightened when we become parents. I feel this time, especially since lockdown, is the perfect time to get back into right relationship with everything in our lives. This includes our relationships with others who we spend our lives, our communities, our communications, our food, our houses, our work- life balance, our mind and inner psyche, our phones, media, TV and computer time, our self care, the health of our bodies, our mental health and inner peace.
So below are a few suggestions that may help you to create more calm, keep going, and feel stronger mentally, physically and emotionally.
Find a daily practice that lights you up:
If you don’t already have a daily practice NOW is the time. Discover what works for you- dance, movement, stretching, yoga, breathing exercises, meditation the list is endless but make it something you enjoy and commit to doing this every day for at least 10 minutes- ideally first thing in the morning. It is said to take 21 days to form a habit so this is a good way to begin.
Yoga: everyone needs yoga in their lives in my opinion. If you have never tried it there is a style and teacher for all bodies and abilities. Especially at the moment when so many great teachers are offering online classes.
Here’s a link to my free full length online class:
Kids Yoga:
An amazing channel on YouTube is Cosmic Kids where there are hundreds of free videos to keep your kids entertained whilst also teaching them to stretch, breathe and experience relaxation.
Meditation-
Like yoga there are so many forms and ways to meditate. It may take some discovering to find what resonates with you and then a lot of practice to really start to find peace when you are meditating. Like anything in this life that is worthwhile it takes time and effort to create a strong meditation practice but this alone will change your life from within. Cultivating a meditative mind will assist in enabling you to face all situations with a lot more spaciousness, more discernment and a higher perspective.
Breathwork:
Breathing is LIFE. We all obviously breathe but if you have not been taught to breathe properly- for example doing diaphragm and deep belly breathing, you are probably only bringing a limited amount of oxygen into your body. There are so many breathing practices, called Pranayama in the Yogic tradition, that it is good to try a few different ones as they also have different functions.
Here is a link to my Alternate Nostril Breathing video which helps to harmonise the left and right hemispheres of the brain:
EFT- Emotional Freedom Technique:
A most incredible and easy to learn resource that everyone can do and practice from home. It helps to release tension and unresolved emotion from the body by tapping on the meridian points to make profound shifts on all levels of the body- mind- spirit. Here’s a video to get you started. I also offer one on one sessions of this for anyone wanting to shift a bit deeper.
Cold water therapy:
As a lover of hot water this one is very hard for me. However, the benefits far outweigh the hardships. Starting with just 30 seconds a day of cold showering after using Wim Hoffs breathing techniques (strong breaths in and out of the mouth for a couple of minutes followed by holding your breath for a few seconds- you enter the cold water when your breath is suspended) will have a profound effect on your immune system. If you haven’t heard of this legendary man who is defying many years of scientific research with his ability to control his nervous system and willingly create white blood cells then see below to get a taster of his gifts which he always humbly says anyone and everyone can also recreate in their bodies. He has even recently been on This Morning proving that this assistance with our wellbeing is now becoming popular in the mainstream
Get Creative-
Often people say “I’m not creative” when they’re not necessarily a natural painter, dancer or poet. What we can forget is that everyone is creative. Creativity is opening up to the flow, being in the moment and we can make anything a creative activity. We are all too concerned in our society of how things look and the finished product but if we are just being creative for the sake of it, unattached to any outcome we can really start to understand the creative energy and how it desires to move through each and every one of us.
All of these suggestions are ways to help create a healthier more holistic way of being from the inside out. Obviously being a parent we want to be the best we can be, sometimes, in my opinion, this means putting ourselves first and creating 5- 10 minutes of time a day to ‘find your centre’. This then becomes an example for your children; when they see that you value your wellbeing, happiness and health they in turn will do the same.
Please feel free to get in touch with any questions, feedback or comments.
Sending Love,
Jessica