Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage

I recently saw a post online about self-care not being enough. It immediately caught my attention. I was intrigued thoroughly, mostly because it triggered my argumentative streak. The man went on to say that he was an active participant in self-care, but it wasn’t enough to prevent burnout.

He exercised daily and ate lots of vegetables and meditated regularly.

He also worked 60+ hours each week and had a few side gigs going.

While I can’t fault him for the self-care aspect, I’d say it was an incomplete attempt. Movement, nourishment, and mindfulness are all excellent practices. But they don’t override our need for a healthy work-life balance.

In my eyes, self-care includes knowing how much we can handle and modifying our lives so that we don’t overdo it.

It’s not that self-care wasn’t enough, but that he ignored part of the equation.

You’ve heard it all before- we all need adequate nutrition, hydration, oxygen, sunlight, exercise and rest to be healthy. You can eat all the broccoli in the world, but if you hardly ever drink water, it’s not going to be enough to stay well.

I’d like to redefine self-care as caring for ourselves with kindness and curiosity. This means paying attention to what we need and responding accordingly rather than following a protocol prescribed by a so-called expert. What I need is very different from what you need. Heck, what I need in this moment is different from what I needed last week. It’s always changing.

This requires developing our self-awareness and capacity to respond with compassion (rather than the pushing/forcing/punishing energy I often seen in runners or folks at the gym).

I endeavor to speak to myself the same way I would to my 10-year-old niece- I wouldn’t shout at her for getting something wrong or berate her for not trying harder or doing more. I’d be encouraging and willing to explore what could be done differently next time.

Rather than jumping on some TikTok bandwagon and following rules developed by someone who has a completely different constitution, history, and lifestyle than yourself, what if you slowed down and listened to your body? To your heart?

This, my friends, is revolutionary behavior and exactly what we need to thrive in a world that is full of stress and toxins. A few years back, I did a 40-day series on self-care if you need some ideas. You can search for the “Radical Self-Care” posts.

But don’t take those articles as a prescription or even a recommendation.

You do you. How could I know if you need more rest or activity or broccoli?

What is one small thing you could do for yourself today that would be a step towards optimal wellness? Don’t overthink it! I bet something has already popped into your mind. How can you make it happen? And this is an important step- afterwards, acknowledge the rewards of your efforts and give yourself a pat on the back. That will make it more likely that you’ll keep going.