Despite the significant technological advances of recent years, with machines that help us to do so many of our daily tasks and reduce the amount of time that we need in order to complete them, the truth is that people simply don’t have enough time for themselves.
Many people work longer hours, with some working beyond the hours that they are salaried for. Their children have more schoolwork, clubs and extracurricular activities that keep them busier. It is all too easy to get stuck in a perpetual loop where you are busy with all of these things and never take time for yourself.
Self-care is vital. It allows an individual to maintain a healthy relationship with themselves and this in turn makes it possible to transmit the good feelings that can be gained from self-care with others around you. Self-care is not, as some people may believe, a selfish thing, in fact that couldn’t be further from the truth. Those individuals who pay attention to their own wellbeing are not just considering their own needs but also how their well-being affects those around them.
Here, we asked Lake District Spa as firm believers in the restorative benefits for the body, mind and soul that can be found from indulging in a little self-care once in a while, how to exercise good self-care..
How can you exercise self-care?
Self-care is as the name would suggest all about looking after oneself. For some people this can be as simple as going for a nice walk in the countryside, sitting on a favourite viewpoint and having a nice sandwich and cup of coffee. For others it can mean a regular trip to the hairdressers or an appointment to have your nails done. The important thing is not actually what you do in order to give yourself some time for self-care but rather making that time for yourself.
Healthy movement
There are some people who have the discipline to find that time for themselves within their own environment. Sport and keeping healthy are good examples of this. Once you get into a routine of jogging or visiting the gym it can become a really important part of your day to day routine and something that you look forward to. Sport releases chemicals called endorphins, and these are what make you feel great, they give you a positive buzz and help to set you up for coping with the daily stresses.
Self care breaks
For others it is important to take a step away from the home in order to exercise self-care. A spa is a great way in which you can do this. There are none of those day to day distractions to stop you spending time unwinding and relaxing. A spa visit is not just a great way in which you can relax though. For some people, simply relaxing in a spa pool can be enough but it is important to remember that this is also a great place to indulge in some of those treatments that you would love to have if you had the time. Make time, pamper your skin with specialist skin treatments that can help you to make your skin look and feel rejuvenated. Have a massage if that is something that you would like and would really help to clear your mind.
However you choose to exercise self-care, and there is not really any right or wrong way to do this, make sure that you leave your stresses behind and actually make that time for yourself because it really does matter.