Prioritize Yourself & Your Own Self-Care: A Daily Practice

Welcome to this guided meditation on self-care and congratulations on choosing you today.

Go ahead and find a comfortable place to lay or sit and just rest comfortably and begin to breathe slowly and gently,

Inhaling and exhaling,

Slowing that breath down as much as you can with longer inhales and even longer exhales,

Beginning to relax the body,

Letting go,

Relaxing the mind and allowing that relaxation to just flow down your entire body like a wave of relaxation from the top of your head to the tips of your toes,

Feeling so peaceful and relaxed and comfortable.

Now self-care involves engaging in appropriate coping skills to manage and maintain your current stability by engaging in such coping skills like taking a bath,

Getting a massage,

Going for a walk or journaling,

Maybe talking to a friend,

Using breathing techniques,

Stretching the body or reading,

Maybe even listening to music or lighting a candle,

Using aromatherapy.

And these activities are excellent ways to relax and pamper yourself and show yourself some love.

When you do this,

You are actually sending a message to your mind and body that you matter and that you are loved and your mind and body will respond back to you by letting go of stress,

Releasing pain and providing you with comfort and love.

It's a win-win.

So why has it been so difficult for you to do these simple things?

Perhaps it's the belief that doing these things for yourself is selfish.

Maybe it's because you think you don't have enough time.

Or maybe you have placed more importance on taking care of others and deemed yourself less important.

Whatever the reason,

You're here today because your tank is empty.

You are drained and running on fumes and need to replenish yourself.

Your tank was once filled with so many wonderful qualities like patience,

Tolerance,

Compassion,

Kindness,

And generosity.

By giving so much to others and nothing to yourself,

You are now drained and having nothing more to give to anyone.

This makes you realize that you have to give to yourself in order to continue being the person you want to be by giving to others.

You realize that self-care is not selfish.

It's actually selfless because you can't give what you don't have.

And this realization from your unconscious mind turns on a light switch in your conscious mind and you are immediately able to release any guilt put upon you by yourself or by others.

Perhaps you can feel the release of this burden and the release that comes with it as you breathe in deeply this new-found gift to yourself.

You know now that this is what will fill your tank every day,

Helping you be the person you want to be – patient,

Tolerant,

Compassionate,

Kind,

And giving.

You may even become happy and excited about all the little things that you can do for yourself to show yourself peace,

Relaxation,

Fun,

Happiness,

Joy,

And love.

Take a moment now to think of all the possibilities for self-care.

Think of the things that would bring you peace,

Relaxation,

Fun,

Or happiness.

And just the thought of participating in these wonderful activities brings you so much joy to your heart and a smile to your face.

And as you're enjoying this wonderful feeling,

A new,

Quite profound thought enters your mind.

There is so much more you can do to achieve greater long-term happiness,

Health,

And fulfillment.

It's not just about managing stress with coping skills.

It's about making permanent changes to your lifestyle so that you can prevent stress and live a life more true to yourself.

And today,

Using the power of your mind,

You have the key to unlock your wonderful unconscious mind in the place where you can discover how to truly care for yourself.

And now that you are feeling deeply relaxed,

I want to talk to you about some of the positive steps that you can take towards your own self-care.

Self-care means regularly taking care of yourself,

Not just when you need to,

Like when you use coping skills.

True self-care means taking care of yourself consistently,

Every day,

In ways that help you maximize your own well-being.

As you're aware,

This can mean different things for different people,

So your priorities will change as you go through life.

You just need to check in with yourself now and again to find out what you need.

Self-care can relate to staying physically healthy,

Which can include exercise and being active,

Good nutrition and hydration,

Maybe taking vitamins and supplements,

Or seeking professional care when needed.

Something else that can help is having an adequate morning and a nighttime routine where sleep is scheduled.

This could include waking up and going to sleep around the same time each night,

Engaging in activities that help you relax and prepare your mind for sleep.

Prepare it before bed and do things that help you relax,

Like maybe taking a warm shower,

Reading or journaling,

Meditating,

And avoiding activities that stimulate the mind and make it harder for you to fall asleep,

Like watching TV,

Being on your phone or working.

Think now about how you'd better prepare your mind and body for sleep.

Think of the activities that you can do for better sleep.

And now let's talk about a morning routine.

A morning routine could start with a morning walk or stretch to get the blood flowing in our body,

Or maybe a cool shower,

Breakfast outside or in a well-lit area while listening to music or maybe your favorite podcast.

Take a moment now to come up with some activities that could be part of your morning routine to help you be more energized and more productive each day.

And now think of activities that you enjoy,

Like a current hobby or passion that you'd like to spend more time doing,

Or something new that you've never done but maybe have always wanted to do,

Or something that feeds your soul or that you're passionate about.

Maybe it's even something that challenges you or that you have to practice and work towards a goal at the end.

Think now about what your self-care activities will be.

Remind yourself that you are worth taking care of.

You are always worth taking care of.

Making time for these new changes in your life,

New coping skills and new routines and activities,

Means you may have to scale back on other activities and even people in your life that you have allowed to take priority over you.

Remind yourself that you are just as important as everyone else in your life,

Because now you know that taking good care of yourself means taking time for yourself and being able to have more patience,

Tolerance,

Compassion,

Kindness,

And generosity,

And to ultimately be able to also give that to others.

And you are now transitioning and becoming the best version of yourself physically,

Emotionally,

And mentally.

And just by taking time out for yourself,

You are able to not only maximize your productivity,

But also enrich the lives of all of the people around you.

Imagine how your life can be.

The fulfillment that you can feel inside for yourself,

As well as the fulfillment and the reward of helping others.

Making the commitment to yourself today,

Right here,

Right now,

To prioritize your own self-care,

Knowing that it is the only way for you to be your truest,

Most authentic version of yourself and the best version of yourself for others as well.

And from this moment on,

Caring for yourself is your main priority,

And you are now making the conscious decision to take the steps that you need to.

You already know that when you regularly take time to look after yourself,

It helps you put your best foot forward,

And you are able to react to the things that go on in your life so much better.

And this gives you increased health,

Reduced stress,

An improved immune system,

More productivity,

Higher self-esteem,

And taking time for yourself just feels so good.

Congratulations for taking this very important step today.

And now,

I'd like you to take this all in with a very deep breath in,

Bringing us back present in the body and feeling that breath,

Feeling alive and proud of ourselves,

And being able to wiggle the fingers and the toes,

And opening the eyes,

Taking another big,

Deep breath in.

Congratulations on choosing you.