mindfulness is self care I realised -

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely places at times, and today it more or less smacked me round the head! I was staring at my screen, a headache looming, unable to think of what I wanted to say. Then I realised mindfulness is self care, if we realised this maybe we would put more time and effort into learning to use it?

I started my mindfulness journey not long before I started this blog in 2016, and to be honest I am still not full time mindful. However, I love finding those totally immersive in the moment moments and how utterly happy they make me. It is those moments that keep me on this journey and why I continue to share about it here on the blog and on my You Tube channel.

Mindfulness is much more than concentrating on your breath while meditating. It is about being in the moment, not letting assumptions, thoughts and feelings cloud over moments making them fly by. I missed so much of my life lost in assuming people thought things about me, or thinking about the past or being anxious about the future.

And yes, I do still do those things but now I catch myself faster and get back to the moment quicker.

Mindfulness is self care

Anxiety – I have suffered with anxiety for most of my life, but when I started practicing mindfulness I found it dropped a lot. Now if I start worrying or stressing I can usually step back and think it Though logically- talk myself down off the ledge as it were.
Depression – I have spent countless hours going over arguments, and situations of the past and reworking them. I am sure you know exactly what that is like! But if you practice mindfulness you can move away from that and bring yourself back to the moment without ruining your mood.
Eating – Now I know this sounds crazy, but mindful eating is a thing. if I am having something special, I will really concentrate on the moment, on how it smells, the taste, how it feels in my mouth… just try it oh goodness it can make the most basic of foods taste glorious and feel like such a lovely treat.
Face masks – I am a big fan of face masks and if I am in a shop I will often look to see what they have on offer. So when I am putting it on my face I love just being in the moment, having some music on and showing real love to myself. I think this part of self care can sometimes be rushed or squashed in amongst other things. But slowing down makes it so much more of a special self care moment.
Make a plan – I love a good vision board, and for me self care is just as important. Making a plan of ways to bring self care into your every day can make all the difference. This is especially true if you live in a busy home or have housemates or children. Setting time to be mindful, think about the things you love and how to bring more of that into your day will make such a difference.

I really hope that you can start to find a way to bring mindfulness into your every day. Mindfulness is self care, it is such a lovely thing to do for yourself and makes all the difference to the way you see yourself. Do let me know how you use mindfulness as self care in the comments.