the rhythm of self-care

To hear from the words of the song The Rhythm of Life from the musical Sweet Charity, "the rhythm of life is a powerful beat". If you've been reading my blog over the last month or so you'll have picked up on a word I keep using over and over again, and that word is self-care. Ok, so that's two words,.. turned into one word!

The practice of self-care creates a rhythm in my life. And boy, does it have a powerful beat! The World Health Organisation defines self-care in health as:

... the activities individuals, families and communities undertake with the intention of enhancing health, preventing disease, limiting illness, and restoring health. These activities are derived from knowledge and skills from the pool of both professional and lay experience. They are undertaken by lay people on their own behalf, either separately or in participative collaboration with professionals.

Basically, we are responsible for our own self-care. It's only been in the last few years since I've been recovering from a chronic illness that I've truly come to understand what it means to care for myself. And to not feel guilty about making this a priority. It's not about being selfish, it's about stewarding my body, my health, and my life, so that I have more to give, not less.

You see, we're like ducks. Our lives look calm and perfect on the surface but underneath the water there is chaos as we try to keep ourselves afloat by working our little legs as hard as we can to keep doing what we know to be life. But there is something the duck knows, an ancient wisdom lost; it knows when to rest on water and it knows when to fly. Too often we try to fly without the resources we need that come from being fuelled by rest, and by rest, I mean self-care.

Self-care looks different for everyone. It needs to serve you, your life and your family or community. It can be as simple as choosing the salad over the fries. It can be as delightful as having a date night with your significant other without the kids. It can feed your body, your soul and your spirit. But self-care will always move you towards enhanced health and a better quality of life. 

Learning how to care for myself is a lesson I keep on learning. At the start, I had professionals who helped me to find ways to practice self-care, such as how to manage my sleep and exercise. Now, I listen to the needs of my body and take action with steps of self-care, some which may seem to be quite extreme! My morning routine for example can be quite lengthy but it prepares me well for the day ahead. And if I need to, I also give myself permission to slow down. I understand now that practicing self-care not only realigns my health but it creates a rhythm that reverberates not only through my life, but into the lives of others too.

To learn more about practicing self-care here is a list of 100 extreme self-care ideas, here is a self-care planner by Kris Carr, or I highly recommend the book The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson.