Why Should We Care About Self- Care?

Self-care is a contemporary psychological concept that has become more and more popularized over the past decade. It is a loose, individually-defined term that encompasses any activity that you undertake in order to increase or maintain your own emotional and physical wellbeing. It also includes strategies to self-soothe, and to celebrate yourself.

Photo by Fern

So, in more concrete terms: self-care is whatever you do to ”fill up your tank”. Eating well, taking a nap, playing with your pet, spending some time in nature, doing some artwork… Self-care is essential but it shouldn’t feel like a chore. It should be something that makes you feel good afterwards, that leaves you feeling rested and, well, cared for.

What Self-care is Not

 But it is easy to misunderstand the difference between what gives a temporary fix and what is truly classified as self-care. It is different for everyone but there are a few basic truths. Self-care is not compulsive. It’s not eating till you can’t feel anything anymore, or drinking till you black out. These things might help you numb uncomfortable feelings, but they won’t leave you feeling good afterwards. Self-care is also not indulgent. It’s not about going on a spending spree and then dreading getting your bank statement in the mail. Again, this might give you a temporary feeling of freedom, but you’re going to feel angry at yourself afterwards.

Self-care and Yoga

So what does yoga have to do with all of this? Well, first and most basically, gentle, relaxing physical activity releases endorphins that calm the mind and the body and leave you feeling great. Breathing deeply does the same thing. Visualizations stimulate your imagination and allow you to release unconsciously held fears. So, as a regular practice, yoga will absolutely help you to feel better, and will do it quickly, too.

 But perhaps more interesting are the subtler and longer term effects that Yoga has on people and their capacity for self-care. As you start to relax long-held tensions and re-arrive in your body, you begin to realize lots of things about yourself. You begin to see that you have boundaries, that you are sensitive to the world around you, that you deserve healthy relationships and healthy surroundings, and that, in fact, you can make choices about your life. You get better at realizing what you need, articulating it and making it happen. You realize that you can trust your gut and that you can leave bad situations whenever you need to. In short, you become better at self-care. This is why Yoga heals people so dramatically.

 So, contrary to what advertising and marketing companies will tell you, self-care is not something that is going to cost you a fortune in expensive mysterious techniques in exotic locations. It’s something that only you can discover and practice for yourself. And if becoming a more centered, conscious and honest human being is selfish, perhaps it’s all time we started.

What does self-care mean to you?