TOP tips for looking after yourself and YOUR insides. It’s fucking important.

Ever felt like you’re in a tumble dryer? And I don’t mean the warm fuzzy feeling either. I am talking about getting to the point on ‘crying tired’. A well known term in our household – everyone close to me knows when I get to this point, I need to be tucked snuggly into bed with a heat pack, some soft music, a burning candle and no one around to make a noise – a bit like a 2yr old! 

Are you spending all of your seconds focused on something or someone else?

I get it. It’s a thing. And here’s what you need to do:

I call it ‘Jenni time’. ‘ME’ time. You can call it ‘*insert your name here* time’. Or, ‘save my sanity time’. Or, ‘leave me alone time’. That last one has a ring to it! I’ll leave the name up to you, but would love for you to share it below!! This could be fun…

Feeding your soul with the above mentioned ‘time’ is vital for your wellbeing. SO often, especially as women, mums, friends, sisters, lovers, wives, etc. our time is given to everyone else and not so often to ourselves.

But let me tell you, if you take some time to look after yourself, you will be better at ALL of the above roles. Crazy!

Consistently reconnecting with yourself, grounding, spoiling and acknowledging your worth can (and will) have a dramatic impact on your life… and the people around you. 

So how do you do this?

You know those things you do that you just love? You can’t really explain it but you just feel good on the inside? For example, when I cook or take photos, I find myself relaxed and humming my favourite tunes. They could be those things that your brain stops you doing because they are a ‘waste of time’?

What I know for sure is this: our thinking brains can be total party spoiling little shits!

I am often asked – How do I spend my time when I need a good regroup?

Here is a list of the things I like to do regularly to reconnect with myself, and just feel good inside!

1. I take off my shoes and put my feet in the grass. Grounding. Hippy. Breathing. Appreciating the fact that I have fresh air to breathe and reminding myself that I am but a ‘poofteenth’ of a spec in an incredibly grand universe. Being humble helps me remain present in the current moment.
2. Get girly. Wash my hair. Have a long shower (not sorry). Feel the water as it surrounds my body. De-hair my legs. Scrub. Indulge. Maybe a face mask. Pamper.
3. Light a candle. Sit. Inhale. And exhale. Of course.
4. Do my yoga practice. Don’t worry, I am not a guru – I follow a YouTube channel!
5. Turn OFF my devices. Shock. Horror. The world hasn’t ended yet. AND I still have friends. AND I am still alive. I know right? Hard to believe. At times, you don’t need the world, or your friends (no offence my friends!). You just need you. This is one of the most challenging ‘reconnecting’ exercises you might try!
6. Treat myself to something really tasty. Sometimes that’s a salted caramel chocolate (well it used to be, before I landed in an allergy bubble – more about that on another post. Oh how I miss chocolate!) & sometimes it’s a celery stick (the natural colon cleanser, wink wink) with goats cheese, or a bubble girl ‘coffee’. Depends on my mood. You get the point.
7. Music. Need i say more? Ok I will. Loud. Soft. Live. Old. House. Yourself singing in the shower. Whatever. It’s good for you. On more levels than you realise. So just turn it on and feel it.
8. Get creative. Paint. Garden. Cook. Write. Who gives a shit. The point is in the way it makes you feel. Get those juices flowing.
9. Read. Anything. This will shift your focus.
10. Meditate – I will talk about this another day too. I don’t mean always getting all zen at a certain time of day or for a certain length of time. I mean, being in tune with you and with ‘what is’ at any given moment. If even for just a few seconds or minutes. We will talk about this.

Exercise too. In any form. I could go on all day. This is because I have put so much work into discovering myself (and continue to do so) and what makes me tick and feel good on the inside. It takes work, but it’s fun work – and I cannot recommend highly enough that you give it a go.

Another hot tip – this is NOT always going to be easy! Acknowledge that, and keep at it. You only need a few minutes!

Now, what about you… What do you incorporate into your days that truly feeds YOUR insides?

Let’s stay cool together, Jen x