Self-Care: Are you actually prioritising you?

Self-care. These two words seem to be being brandished about everywhere right now. It's a hot topic, BUT, what exactly does self-care entail? Why is putting yourself so important? Why are we so good at ignoring what our body is telling us and continuing to push-on, to "hustle" if you like, and put everyone else's needs before our own?

I've been thinking a lot lately about self-care and its importance. Not only self-care but the importance of creating rituals. As a mama, it's so easy to get caught up in constantly worrying about our wee ones and running ourselves absolutely ragged but stop and think for a moment. How amazingly high vibe and just fucking awesome is it on those days when you've had enough sleep and you've had a little time out just for you to connect with yourself? It's easier to deal with those tantrums and be so much more present with our wildlings, isn't it? Filling our own cup ensures it overflows toward the rest of our loved ones. 

So what does self-care look like to me? Here are my top 10 self-care rituals, practices, and experiences I've been gifting myself lately and it's making a major difference to my health and wellbeing....

Mood Management with Essential Oils

These little plant magicians have become daily tools and rituals for me. Something I absolutely love to do to pamper my skin each morning after my shower but more than that, enhance my mood and set the tone for my whole day: aromatic dressing. Aromatic dressing consists of hopping out of the shower, drying myself, and then getting some fractionated coconut oil, with a few drops essential oil and working it into my skin from feet to head, really massaging it in and loving every inch of your body as you do it. At the end I like to massage it into my feet. Look, some days I'm in a rush and this may look more like slapping it all over my body but hey, as long as I give my body and my mood some loving as many mornings as possible, I'm happy. I use whatever I feel drawn to that particular day. Some days I love Geranium as it's gorgeous for skin and hair plus smells like an English garden. Lately I'm very drawn to the feminine scents like geranium, ylang ylang, rose or jasmine. Other days if I feel I'm really going to need centring and grounding I'll use Balance (grounding blend) with Frankincense. Tip: be careful if you use citrus oils all over your body not to go out in the direct sun as they're photosensitive. 

During the day at home I have the diffuser going with whatever oils I need in that moment. Feeling sluggish? Peppermint. Need to focus? Peppermint and wild orange together with a little InTune focus blend on my pulse points. Feeling overwhelmed or need to calm the farm? Balance. I often use Balance and Citrus Bliss together for grounding but uplifting too. Citrus Bliss is the oil of creativity too ;-) In the evenings we wind down with some Lavender Peace (aka Serenity in the US) and for bed I add some vetiver and cedar wood to it for some serious sedation haha!

I carry certain oils on me in my handbag every day so if I need something in the moment I gave my go-to oil for that and can even simply take off the car and sniff. I even have a car diffuser so I can make my car my happy place.

See the very bottom of this blog post for how you I can help you get started with some gorgeous plant magic (essential oils).

Chakra Cleansing, Meditation, White Light & Mindfulness

Sounding a little woo woo? Or think you're someone who simply can't meditate? I'm here to tell you anyone can. You don't have to be a "type" of person or some highly evolved zen monk. Shit, my mind wonders all the time when I meditate. Some days more than others, but I never get frustrated about it and stop. I just simply bring my mind back again and again. I can also be quite dynamic, moving around, just doing whatever my body seems to need as I do it. I do other meditations form time to time my my daily thing is a chakra cleanse meditation. We're all energy and to me it makes sense to work on our energy field so that we feel in flow and high vibe. As my mentor, Belinda Davidson, says "the state of your chakras is the state of your life." Chakra cleansing is my daily ritual. If I don't do it, I feel mucky. Kinda like needing a shower. I highly recommend starting with Belinda's chakra cleanse meditation for busy people. (No, I'm not an affiliate).

I will always channel white light after a chakra cleanse and often when I feel I need it throughout the day. I also sign up every single week for Belinda's FREE white light healings. Yup, they're free guys. Get onto it! :-)

I've been on the journey of mindfulness practices ever since reading Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now in 2012. However, it's taken a few reads and also some practical examples from Russ Harris' The Happiness Trap to get me really into practicing this daily. I'm sure mindfulness will be a life long learning journey for me, but every now and then something happens and I realise that I've reacted very differently to how I would have even say 6 months ago. That's how I know I've come a long way. I honestly believe practicing mindfulness is the key to living a high vibe life. 

image: ignite kinesiology

Kinesiology

I see the most magical goddess, kinesiologist, Sarah Cox of Ignite Kinesiology. As much as I work on my own energy, getting a little helping hand from a talented kinesiologist is a fantastic boost. Oh the amazing things that come up in our sessions! I always feel so aligned and in flow after I see her. I usually go about every 8 weeks or so. Having a proactive approach to my health plays a major component in my overall wellbeing. I also highly recommend Susan from Kinesiology Affect for Sydney-siders. You can see my interview I did with her here.

Pilates & Yoga

My reformer pilates sessions each week are my time. Just me, present, focused, and giving my body the movement that it craves. Yoga too. So if yoga and pilates aren't your thing, go out there and find your thing. something that gets your body moving in a way you love and can give your body what it needs. That's always going to look completely different to all of us. Sometimes I find I need different forms of exercise during different phases of my life. Listen to your body.

image: spirit seeker

Sacred Women's Circle

Last weekend I attended a Sacred Women's Circle. I almost didn't because I had a few things on that weekend and would've been leaving hubby with our 3 year old a lot over the 2 days. Hubby encouraged me to go so I did and I'm so glad I did. We gathered under the new moon energy to set intentions, celebrate sisterhood, bring ritual back into our lives, and acknowledge our truly amazing, alchemical selves. I can't even tell you how much I had felt the need to do something like this. Once upon a time women would connect and have ritual and love and support for each other and themselves. I mean, think about how truly fucking amazing our bodies are?! When I think about how I carried a baby and the way my body adapted to that and then fed and nourished that baby. Why don't we celebrate this?! It seems crazy to me. Not that the circle was just about that. In fact I'm pretty certain I was the only mum there. I encourage you to find something like this in your area and attend. Empowering beyond belief.

EFT / Tapping

EFT is the Emotional Freedom Technique. Also referred to as Tapping, it uses a two-finger tapping process on acupressure points with a cognitive acceptance statement. By stimulating your body's energy meridian points, you can set yourself free from many self-limiting beliefs, negative feelings, and even physical pain and dis-ease. I recently did a one month course in Tapping which included a video each day on different self-limiting beliefs for entrepreneurs and network marketers. By just giving myself that 10 minutes each day it had a massive impact in my business and my emotional wellbeing.

Booking in Those Much Needed Check-Ups

So I realised that since having my little guy I'd put off lots of general checkups. Last week I headed to the skin cancer clinic and actually had to have 2 little biopsies to be on the safe side. I'm glad I booked the appointment when I did. I've also had an eye test, dental checkup, etc. Feels like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders knowing all these appointments are out of the way. I try to be as in tune with my body as possible these days so knowing when it's time to book in to the chiropractor for instance to get m physical body back in alignment, that's important.

Salon Pamper

I love a little me-time at the salon. A mani & pedi, a fresh tan, a facial, or massage. I love to just lie there and be as present as possible. Not wasting a moment by thinking about all the things I have to get done or what so and so said to me yesterday. Pampering and mindfulness practice at the same time ;-)

Catch Up with the Girls

As with the 'Sacred Women's Circle' point above, sisterhood is something we need more of! I love to have a night with my girls. Dinner, wine, and long chats, laughing til our cheeks hurt. Or even brunch and coffee hangs. It's so hard to really have a fully present conversation with the kids, so some scheduled sister time is so important. I particularly loved this article on that...

image: Belinda Davidson

Reading Soulful Books

For me it's important to nourish my mind and soul by reading books that help me grow. Books that expand my way of thinking and feeling. Right now I'm just about to finish reading my mentor, Belinda Davidson's first book, From Dark to Light. The first part is her autobiography and as an extremely gifted psychic, her life story is just fascinating. The second part actually talks you through the chakras and how you can change you energy and change your by working through the dark towards the light. I love her list of the 10 most spiritual books of all time here. I also love to return to Eckhart Tolle's, The Power of Now, time and time again. There's always something else that sinks in each time.

So tell me Soulful Ones, are you prioritising self-care? What does self-care look like to you? I'd love to know and I'd love you to tag me on Instagram or Facebook @soulfulmamablog #soulfulmamablog with your self-care rituals.

Want to know how to bring some beautiful essential oil plant magic into your life? See below.

HOW TO PURCHASE YOUR doTERRA OILS

Purchasing an Enrolment Kit includes membership for free, and gives you the most popular oils at a huge discount. This is cheapest way to get your hands on the oils.

The 'Home Essentials Kit' is the most popular kit and gives you the top 10 oils, in the full-size bottles, plus a diffuser and saves you over $200 on the retail cost of these oils.  There are no minimum monthly orders or selling required. 

KITS

Australian/NZ Kits 
United States Kits


HOW TO GET STARTED

Click this link https://www.mydoterra.com/clarechiofalo
Click Join and Save
Choose the country and language that's appropriate to you
Click 'Local'
Choose Wholesale Account (NOT Preferred Member)
Enter your personal info
At "Enroller ID" simply enter my ID number: 3624650 and my name should come up
Click verify
Set up your password
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Select the kit you'd like to order
Enter your Credit Card details and you're done!

(LRP is the best way to get your hands on the cheapest oils and grow your collection. This is doTERRA's Loyalty Rewards Program and is free to join. If this interests you, I can send you more info on LRP)

Please feel free to ask me any questions by emailing me at: clare_m13 (at) hotmail.com or PM me on Facebook or DM me on Instagram. doTERRA have a beautiful special for November where you get 50 bonus points to use next time if your order comes to 125pv!! A. perfect time to get some gorgeous Christmas gifts.