gratitude – Well of Joy

There are many self-care challenges out there that only scratch the surface of what it means to practice self-care. While bubble baths, face masks, and curling up on the couch to binge your favorite series can be fun ways to relax, self-care is also so much more than that. This challenge is about transforming your life through connecting with what self-care means to you and developing a consistent self-care routine that brings you contentment and joy. Think of it as a buffet where you can try 30 different self-care techniques. These are all self-care practices that have transformed my life over the years, and I'm excited to share them with you. It's also important to note that you don't need to do this challenge one day after the other or even in consecutive order. If you can, I would encourage you to try, but don't let your schedule prevent you from getting the self-care you need. If you miss a day or two because life happens, just come back to it when you can. 30 Day Self-Care Challenge Day 1: Gratitude Being grateful helps you shift your perspective to notice all the beauty and love already present in your life. Start the challenge with an attitude of gratitude by writing five things you're grateful for. Try to be specific and write a couple of sentences about why you feel appreciative of each one. From Health.harvard.edu, “In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” Day 2: Try a Meditation Meditation is a self-care practice that has many benefits. It helps you see new perspectives, clears your mind, and can bring a deep feeling of connection with yourself. You can find my three favorite short and blissful meditations here. Day 3: Have a One-Person Dance Party Turn on your favorite playlist and dance freely. For a few minutes, you can shake your cares away. Dancing helps you express yourself and get out of your head and into the present moment. As you move, your body also releases endorphins, leaving you feeling happy and refreshed. Day 4: Technology-Free Day Social media and technology can be a huge drain on your daily time and energy. Make today a technology-free day and see what inspiration comes your way. If you need to use technology for work, just make your free time technology-free. You can also switch this with another day when you know you'll be able to set your tech aside. Day 5: Self-Care Bath (or Shower!) Slowing down and taking time for a luxuriously long and warm bath or shower can bring relaxation, renewal, and healing. You can add in crystals, calming music, essential oils, and more to create a deeply calming experience that will leave you feeling rejuvenated and refreshed. You can find self-care bath inspiration here! Day 6: Do Something Creative Creativity is the way you express yourself and share your ideas with the world. It can help you overcome self-doubt, reduce stress, get in touch with your intuition, and so much more. Discover more reasons why you should do something creative every day here. Not sure what to do? Try journaling, sketching, or trying out a new recipe. For more inspiration, check out this article on how having a slow hobby will change your life. Day 7:Try Morning Pages Morning pages is a transformative daily self-care journal ritual that can help you start your day clear-minded and fresh. Write three pages by hand in the morning. Write exactly what you're thinking and feeling, in a stream of consciousness flow. To learn more about the morning pages and get more complete instructions on how to do them, check out this article. Day 8: Do Yoga Set aside for a yoga practice today! If you're new to yoga, check out YouTube. Yoga with Adriene has tons of great videos for beginners. Day 9: Set/ Evaluate Your Boundaries Boundaries are intentional decisions you make for your life that help you preserve your time and energy. They are essential to self-care and can change your life. Get started setting healthy boundaries for self-care here. Day 10: Cook a Healthy Meal Cook yourself a nourishing and healthy meal today! If you need ideas, head over to Pinterest.com and do a quick search. There are tons of recipes and inspiration. Day 11: Set a Daily Intention Start your day by setting an intention. At the end of the day, reflect on how it inspired or changed your day. Get started with your intention-setting by checking out this article on how to set intentions. Day 12: Go For a Walk Connecting with nature grounds you and helps you find balance. Go for a walk and take in the beauty around you. Day 13: Make Yourself a Cup of Tea Brewing yourself s cup of tea is a simple act of self-care that offers coziness and relaxation. Snuggle up with a hot cup of tea and take a few minutes to relax. Day 14: Pranayama/ Breathing Exercises Pranayama is a branch of yoga that incorporates breathing techniques to bring deep feelings of calm and self-awareness. Yogajournal.com has an informative article on pranayama for beginners with techniques that you can find here. Day 15: Get Organized Getting organized helps reduce stress and can be so beneficial to your mental health. Pick one room or area of your space to get organized today. Whether it's your desk, closet, living room, or finally organizing the files on your laptop, you'll be one step closer to having a clean and orderly home. Day 16: Practice Eating Intuitively Intuitive eating is a set of principles that guide you to have a healthy relationship with food. With intuitive eating, you begin to eat based on your internal signals and let go of pre-conceived notions learned from diet culture. Get started with this beginner's guide to intuitive eating from Alissarumsey.com. Day 17: Morning Routine Developing a morning routine can help you start every day with self-care. Pick 1 or 2 things, like meditation, yoga, morning pages, or tongue scraping (check out my Ayurvedic morning routine to learn more about this) to add to your morning routine tomorrow. Find inspiration for creating a spiritual self-care morning routine here! Day 18: Face Mask Face masks are a simple way to take some time for you and take care of your body. Try a dead sea mud mask or one of these turmeric masks from Helloglow.com. Day 19: Create and Use an Affirmation Affirmations are a powerful self-care exercise where you repeat an inspiring sentence to yourself. This practice can help you challenge limiting beliefs you may be holding, transform your mindset, and gain a new perspective on your life. Learn more about how to use affirmations and find affirmation inspiration here. Day 20: Try Mindful Eating Mindful eating brings awareness to the food you eat while inviting you to slow down and enjoy your meal. Being in this state of mindfulness as you eat helps you reconnect with your senses and turns eating into a time where you can find peace and clear your mind. Learn more about mindful eating on Headspace.com. Day 21: Try the Heart Math Coherence Technique 'Coherence' is a beautiful technique developed by the Heart Math Institute that leaves you feeling centered and clear. It especially helps you to find balance when you experience emotions like anger, anxiety, and frustration. According to Heart Math, “Coherence is the state when the heart, mind, and emotions are in energetic alignment and cooperation," HeartMath Institute Research Director Dr. Rollin McCraty says. "It is a state that builds resiliency – personal energy is accumulated, not wasted – leaving more energy to manifest intentions and harmonious outcomes." Try their quick coherence technique here on Heartmath.com. Day 22: Create an Evening Routine Creating a self-care evening routine is essential for having a peaceful evening and waking up feeling refreshed. Use this night to commit to bedtime and a few pre-sleep activities like yoga, reading, or meditation. Check out 12 tips to help you build a self-care evening routine here. Day 23: Try Earthing/ Grounding Earthing is the practice of connecting with the earth by walking barefoot outside. In our modern lives, we can sometimes forget to get out and connect with nature. Simply taking some time to do this can be healing and bring feelings of relaxation and contentment. Discover more grounding techniques and the importance of being grounded here. Read more about earthing, also referred to as grounding, at Healthline.com. Day 24: Track Your Water Consumption It's no secret that drinking enough water helps you feel your best. But are you getting enough? Use today to keep track of how much water you drank and how you felt if you forgot to drink. (You should aim for around 3 liters per day!) Day 25: Sit and Do Nothing Doing nothing is an opportunity to let your brain digest all the information it takes in a day. In this space, new ideas and perspectives can begin to grow. Schedule some open, uninterrupted 'you' time today. Day 26: Body- Acceptance Mirror Exercise This is a beautiful heart-opening practice I created as I learned to be more accepting of my body. Like many people, I used to think that my body should look a certain way, or it wasn't worthy of love. This self-care practice helped me to appreciate my body as the vessel that allows me to exist in this world. Start by standing in front of your mirror and begin to reflect upon your body as the natural wonder that it is. Let that sink in - your body, a natural wonder. This body you exist in has helped you to move, to dance, to enjoy, to love. To feel hugs and kisses and tears. Without it, you would have never had a single one of your experiences here. It was created from the atoms of this earth, and when you leave it, it will return to this earth. You were born, and there your body was, caring for you, knowing exactly how to sleep and eat and cry. Now, look at that body in the mirror. Look into your eyes and see your Self within. Say I love you. Say it again and again, until you feel that love, expanded in your heart. You may also have emotions coming to the surface. Allow them and be present. Explore whether these emotions are connected to any past wounds or deeply ingrained beliefs that come from a place of fear so you can learn to recognize, accept, and heal those parts of yourself. Day 27: Read a Book Getting engrossed in a novel or learning something new is a stimulating and fun way to forget the world for a little bit while practicing self-care. Find some time to tuck into a good book you've been meaning to read today. Day 28: Abhyanga Abhyanga is an Ayurvedic self-massage. You'll use oil to massage your body, leaving you feeling relaxed while helping stimulate lymphatic drainage and alleviate sore muscles. For instructions, check out this article on abhyanga from Banyanbotanicals.com. Day 29: Bake Yourself a Treat Almost done with the 30-day self-care challenge! Head to Pinterest to find something to bake to celebrate and enjoy! Day 30: Reflect and Commit to a New Self-Care Routine You did it! Now that you've tried 29 different healing self-care practices, take a few minutes to reflect on these questions: What were your favorite activities?How did they make you feel?How can you incorporate these into your daily life? Commit to adding a couple of new self-care practices that help you feel your best. I hope you learned something about yourself that will help you on your journey to wellness while doing the self-care challenge. Enjoy your new self-care routine. <3 Thank you for being here, Rebecca Join the Well of Joy Community& Get a Printable 30-Day Self-Care Challenge ChecklistSubscribe to get self-love inspiration delivered to your inbox.SubscribeI won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.Built with ConvertKit