Seed Bearing Fruit: recalibrate with self-care practices

Recalibration days. Everyone needs them. Even those who do not live with an illness. We all have our moments when we need to rest, regroup and recalibrate.

I wrote here last year about how the practice of self-care creates a rhythm in my life. Living with ME means that I need to be very diligent with my daily self-care practices. Living with a chronic illness does not mean I miss out on living my life (and I refuse to allow FOMO - the fear of missing out - to take root in my heart!). What it means for me right now is that I struggle to do what you do more than two days in a row. And so, recalibration days, or buffer days, are my friend.

I love a slower pace of life. And self-care does help us to slow down. Especially on the hard days, those days when we need to be kind to ourselves, just like we would be to a loved one. Social media can make it easy to believe that some people don't have hard days. We always (mostly) present our best. But days offline, recalibrating, and working through the hard stuff, help us to actually live our best.

Here are my daily self-care practices that help keep me on board the happy and healthy train:

Lots and lots of sleep. Between the hours of 10pm to 7am are the most magical hours for me.
Oil pulling every morning.
Devotional time every morning - daily reading, journalling, praying and meditating on the Word.
Plant-based nutrition every day. Every meal is an opportunity to eat foods that nourish my body and help me to heal from a chronic illness.
Drinking 2 to 3 litres of filtered water every day.
Exercise every day - incidental or structured. I enjoy walking, running, cycling and Pilates.
Coffee enemas every other evening.
Dry body brushing before a warm bath or shower every evening.
Earthing every night. Or just going barefoot during the day.
Connecting with friends and family. Building healthy relationships and filling my love tank.
Infrared sauna every fortnight.
Colon hydrotherapy every month.

This may seem like a long list but hear me when I say, I am not perfect, and I don't always do all these things all the time as much as I would like to. I simply try to create a routine and be flexible in order to allow for the ebb and flow of life. I'm sure this list will change over time as my health improves and my life shifts.

For now, I hope this list gives you an insight into the day-to-day of living with and recovering from a chronic illness, and may it also inspire you to begin your own daily routine of self-care practices.

Go on, my friend, and recalibrate.