February's most popular day in modern times has to be Valentines Day, the 14th of the month is also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine. Originally it was as a Western Christian feast day honouring one or two early saints named Valentinus but now is more of a commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world.
Recently Valentine’s day was all things couples in love, dinner dates out and exchanges of cards and gifts which is still the case for many however with the surge of well being propelling us forward 2023 promises to be a celebration of more. A celebration of self-love and looking after ourselves.
The self-care hashtag is one of the busiest on social media with a huge trend in people prioritising their own health and well being and therapists can be part of this growing movement if they market themselves correctly. What about you as the therapist as the books get busier are you looking after yourself so that you can give the best to your clients? Often it is those helping others that take the least time for themselves so we have listed so tips below to help you create more self care in your life.
1 - Regular holistic treatments
We have all learnt about the benefits of having regular treatments to help with our symptoms or just for maintenance, it can be for stress, a certain joint problem or anything else but is it something you indulge in irregularly? Are you already taking part in having regular holistic therapy and if not, what is stopping you? Is there a therapist nearby that you can do a treatment swap with or if it is a financial reason can you look at it as an invest in your health to make it more viable?
2 – Use your tools
Chances are you have some essential oils in the back of a cupboard or some skincare products lurking around the bathroom. You could utilise those to create a nourishing session for yourself that costs you very little. Maybe even create a bath or body oil for yourself. Hippocrates said that “The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and a scented massage every day”. Could one or two scented baths a week be part of your self-care routine?
3 – Be brutally honest with yourself
Self-care isn’t all bubble baths and chocolate bars that is so often depicted in the media, sometime it means making some tough decisions that will benefit you in the long run. That could be anything to cutting back on your working hours to create more family time or time for you right down to cutting a toxic person out of your life because they don’t serve you anymore and have a negative impact on you.
4 – Create a nutritious menu
To quote ancient wisdom again “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”, quite often we know what is good for us but don’t put it into practise. Why not look online for some healthy recipes to try and set aside time to create them. Not only can the act of cooking be therapeutic but the end result of good nutrition has a positive impact on us physically and mentally.
5 – Try meditation
Whilst sometimes it can feel hypnotic to perform treatments on people have you ever thought about using your treatment space for yourself? Putting on the diffuser, dimming the lights and playing a guided meditation. The relaxation response from meditation helps decrease metabolism, lowers blood pressure, and improves heart rate, breathing, and brain waves.
There are many ways to incorporate more time for self-care into your routine but however you decide to incorporate it make sure that you do so you are never running on empty. It is crucial that all of your clients are getting the same experience from you and that you aren’t burning yourself out in the process.
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