Written by: Maria R. Malec, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“What does healthy mean to me?” is a good place to start when evolving a self-care driven way of life.
Do your self-care ideals align with your actual life?
Are you a doer or a talker when it comes to walking it out?
Do your self-care habits create an atmosphere of thriving or just surviving?
Is self-care even on your radar? Is it a luxury or a part of the fabric of your life?
Since our bodies are always in a state of adapting to our current environment, self-care is to our lives what air is to our lungs.
While there are hundreds of ways that we can execute our unique blueprint of self-care, here are the four keys that crack the self-care code to live freely without the prison bars of scarcity, elimination, or self-condemnation. There is lots of room for creativity.
These four keys seem elementary, yet, in their simplicity is their undeniable strength and sustainability. Awareness is always the entry point for any practice.
1st Key — Cultivate an Ironclad Self-care Mindset
Many people are being awakened to the fact that the mightiest attribute in setting the trajectory of our lives is cultivating an ironclad self-care mindset. Just like a healthy tree produces healthy fruit likewise, a healthy mindset produces a thriving life.
The coherence of the heart and brain are necessary for all our actions. What we feed our mind is as important as what we feed our bodies. The decision to take confident action first requires us to create the proper mindset activated with the self-care actions of love, forgiveness, repentance, and gratitude. If our minds are burdened with destructive programming, we need to exercise those four actions with regularity.
Undoubtedly, there is no neutral environment. Our mindset is particularly influenced by the company we keep and with the prevalent social media fascination, aka the people we follow. It has been said that we are defined by the people we surround ourselves with. Frequently, taking an audit of those people in our lives is a positive form of self-care. Not everyone is our assignment, and most people are just a season.
Keeping our thoughts captive and aligned with the heart of our Divine consciousness will greatly shape the life we wish to create.
Mindset self-care can look like this:
Developing nonjudgmental self-awareness.
Create a system of daily self-regulation.
Build a daily structure of behavior aka habit.
Schedule daily contemplation time.
Plan sacred time alone.
Establish boundaries that you can stick to and learn to say “No”.
Ditch comparing yourself to others.
Make positive self-talk a priority.
Decide to be joyful in all you do.
“You are now, and you do become, what you think about.” – Earl Nightingale
2nd Key — Design a Healing Home
There’s a difference between living in a green home and a healing home. Going green only reduces the risk of hidden toxins which removes a detriment to you and your family’s health. When we add resources that build, nurture, and support us, it enhances the effects of greening and turns it into healing.
Our environment contributes greatly to our peace of mind which is a barometer for our overall well-being. Nurturing a wholesome environment is like a constant drip of self-care which becomes an integral part of one's existence.
Here are the basics of transforming your dwelling place into a sacred refuge from the world at large. It is important to maintain an atmosphere where one feels elevated, not depleted when present there.
1. Gather an awareness of all the products you use from the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, and the garage. Don’t forget to take into account your work or office space. Replace toxic items with healthier ones.
2. Eliminate chemicals, processed foods, and OTD (over-the-counter drugs).
a. Chemicals block, inhibit, and disrupt our body’s natural functions
b. Using plant-based resources like essential oils and organic nutrient-dense foods work with our bodies to build, nurture and support
c. Eating living foods that come from nature translate into a living body.
3. Incorporating aroma, water, light, sound, plant, color, and positive image elements provides an optimal healing ambient environment.
a. Aroma is a whole-body approach that easily impacts a person. Smell is the first thing registered in the brain in any given situation. When people walk into our homes, they should be greeted with a pleasant aroma. Diffusing essential oils in a space is one of the best ways to purify an environment. They also help to reduce chemicals, bacteria, and metals in the air while supporting emotional balance.
b. Water — Moving water will create many positive benefits for an indoor environment. Studies have shown that people who experience indoor fountains feel happier, more satisfied, and more often relaxed than others who had not.
c. Light — As an environmental design of any space, ambient lighting encourages a sense of well-being. Through a dynamic lighting solution adding a soft-colored ambient glow to the room will tend to calm those who live there. The overall benefits of proper lighting reduces anxiety and eye strain enhances general satisfaction and supports productivity
d. Sound — This element has a long history of positive effects on the body and mind. Adding music or white noise to ambient lighting makes a soothing experience even more impactful.
e. Plants — Indoor plants transcend trends. The benefits they suggest should make us consider them a necessity rather than an object of décor. A few of the many benefits of plants are that they increase oxygen levels thus improving concentration, memory and productivity, as well as, cleaning the environment of airborne chemicals and pathogens. Other natural elements like stones and wood pieces, fresh-cut flowers add to bringing the outdoors inside.
f. Color — The element is practically like a vitamin supplement. It is an essential part of the landscape of our lives, cultural identity and an uplifting source of everyday wellness. It can shape the energy of a room to comfort or feel confident, remove fear, or ignite love and happiness,
g. Positive Images — Melissa Breyer Positive Visual Affirmation Images says there is a compelling body of literature on the use of “restorative” visual images that can reduce stress, anxiety, and pain perception (for a comprehensive review of literature see Ulrich (2009). Positive images contribute to a positive mindset.
3rd Key — Internal Purification and Fortification
Our bodies are sovereign and deserve the mindful care like a master gardener tending a prized garden. In the abyss of lotions, potions, powders, and rules clean eating is the pinnacle of health and prevention of infirmity. When you eat nutrient-dense foods one does not have to worry about eliminating or discerning good from bad choices. We should never look to practitioners, doctors, or white pills to replace doing things that can be found in nature. Sunshine is an underused source of internal purification and nutrition. What the sun does for plants acts in the same manner in all of nature. Remember we are part of that equation. Walking barefoot grounds us to the natural frequencies of the earth thus positively affecting our internal terrain.
Supplements should only be considered if you are not getting what you need from your clean food sources. While there is a multitude of medicinal and fortifying plants available to choose from, here are some of the recommended supplements to fulfill our basic needs.
1. Probiotics — healthy gut = healthy brain populating the gut with the proper balance of microorganisms which are the good bacteria compost heap for our immunity
a. Natural probiotics can be found in fermented foods
2. Enzymes — healthy gut = healthy brain
a. Nature’s enzymes are present in raw fruits and vegetables
3. Fish oils (omegas) = healthy brain (our body doesn’t produce)
4. Vitamin D = healthy skin, eyes, and brain
a. Sunshine
5. Immune boosters = Prevention
Some other internal self-care methods could include doing breath work, cleanses, coffee enemas, Epsom bath soaks, dancing, singing, praying, receiving or giving massages, hugging, smelling flowers, watching the sun rise, taking a quick nap, laughing, celebrating the little wins, preparing meals and practicing positive self-talk are all contributors of internal fortification. It’s important to not take for granted all the free things available to enrich our lives.
4th Key — Oral Health
Surprisingly, oral health is integral to overall health! Every tooth corresponds to a different system of our bodies. Keeping them intact with self-care is not just a good practice, it is essential to whole body wellness. Plaque is a bio film where bacteria colonize in clumps, like little sweaters. Brushing with over-the-counter toothpastes are not disinfectants, they only mechanically scrub germs present on our teeth, allowing them to persistently come back without delay. Chemical-free toothpaste or mouth wash infused with essential oils kills bacteria on contact! Adding orange essential oil to toothpaste is a natural approach to whitening, as well as bentonite clay. Surprisingly, dental hygiene helps ward off heart infection. American Heart Association says bacteria in mouth can leak into blood stream and arteries. Conscious dental hygiene seeks balance solutions with resources that work with the body’s own natural self-healing systems and regular dental visits is a strategy for a healthy mouth and body.
The basis for conscious self-care serves as preventative maintenance for elevating the probability of sustained problem-free wellness.
Are you a doer or just a talker?
Theory is nice. Talking about it is noble, Yet, results are only achieved with action. It takes 63 days of consistent action to make this behavior automatic.
To avoid overwhelm or confusion, change one thing at a time. Technically, anyone can replace destructive habits with positive ones every 2 months with an almost solid assurance of not reverting back. That’s worth celebrating.
These 4 keys are foundational elements to the system and structure of living free of sickness while enjoying the freedom of designing your unique flow. If your self-care habits lead to everyday wellness, then you have less to worry about and more living to experience. Your health begins when you begin making informed decisions and become responsible for how you care for yourself and your family.
Want to learn more from Maria? Visit her website.
Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine & 2021 CREA Award Winner
As a Human Experience Coach, Maria reminds folks that living is an art. Using various tools found in nature, she creates experiential retreats that ignite one's inner healer. She brings people to the awareness that their level of wellness is directly related to their peace of mind. Through heart/brain coherence, it is her mission to inspire others to paint a beautiful living by daring to declare their innermost desires, bringing peace to chaotic hearts, and helping them to restore themselves to their original blueprint of design. Her methods teach others how to find their flow and live fully with all their senses.
In addition to coaching and speaking, Maria published her first book in 2020 titled, Dare to Declare, Greeting the Day With Intention. You can get it here: https://amzn.to/3BXAvGQ
