Simply Self-Care 🌿

March 23, 2025

Issue 22

Weekly Pause & Reset

Mindfully designed to offer healthy lifestyle-design & wellbeing tips, inspiration & insights to jumpstart your week.

Simply Self-Care

Happy Sunday!

Self-care seems like a buzz word lately. It can sometimes come across as being gimmicky or trite. I like to use different language in regard to self-care, this makes it feel more authentic to me:

Self-nurturing
Health management
Mind-body care
Self-compassion
Self-love
Listening to what my mind, body and soul need to feel nourished

I think of self-care as doing what we need to do to meet our most basic needs in order to thrive at our highest potential.

Basic needs include, but not limited to: rest (physical & mental), sleep, proper nourishment and hydration, movement, social engagement, etc. In the OT world, self-care also includes things like bathing, dressing, going to the bathroom, eating, brushing your teeth (if you’re a parent of young children, a healthcare provider, a teacher or any other such profession, you know how hard it is to take even a few minutes to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water!).

Some days may be harder than others when it comes to meeting these basic needs. What small acts of kindness and self-care can you do for yourself in the next hour, day, and week to prioritize and fulfill your basic needs?

Wishing you balance & equilibrium 🌿,

Steph 🤍

Weekly Wellness Intention 💫

I will prioritize my wellbeing by dedicating time for self-care each day, focusing on activities that restore and rejuvenate me.

Self-Care Myths Debunked

Starting here and now, let’s dismantle any ingrained beliefs that our culture perpetuates. Below are some common myths and truths about self-care:

Myth #1: Self-Care is selfish.

TRUTH — Taking care of ourselves is critical, but not just for our own sake. By taking care of ourselves first, it gives us the energy & space to care for others (just like on an airplane, put your oxygen mask on yourself before your child or dependent).

Myth #2: Acts of self-care need to be lavish & expensive.

TRUTH — Have you ever done something simple in your day, and realized it was just what you needed to do to feel better? Like a shower. Like a hot cup of tea. Like a nourishing meal. Like a coffee-date with a friend. Like a quick walk outside. Like saying “no” to something that was going to drain you. Like taking 3 deep breaths. Don’t get me wrong, a spa day complete with massage is wonderful and deserved too! Sometimes, though, the free or inexpensive self-care breaks in a day can make all the difference.

Myth #3: Self-care takes too much time.

TRUTH — If you have 15 minutes, take a walk around the block. Ten minutes, whip up a healthy snack or smoothie. Five minutes, look out the window and daydream. And if you only have a minute, a minute is all it takes! Do a mindful breathing exercise for 60 seconds. Taking mini-self-care sessions throughout the day can really add up…and I might add, probably make you more productive because your mind & body get replenished frequently.

Myth #4: Self-Care has to be earned.

TRUTH — Using self-care as a reward can backfire. If we’re always dangling the self-care “carrot” in front of us, it may lose it’s allure, especially if it’s a farfetched task and it takes days or weeks to get there. By consistently factoring small acts of self-care throughout every day “just because”, it will make us happier in the long run (not to mention more efficient too, and that’s a secondary gain!)

Here’s What’s New:

🌿 New Wellness Workshop —Saturday, April 12th, 10-11:30.

Spring Reset: Self-Care For Your Body, Mind & Soul

In this hands-on workshop, you'll create an assortment of items: Nourishing lotion bars, Scented room mists, and Lavender infused oil — the perfect way to reset, recharge and reconnect with yourself and others after a long winter!

Sign up here today! Space is limited. Reach out with questions.

🌿 The Weekly Pause & Reset Archive — If you’re new here and interested in looking back at the past issues of the Weekly Pause & Reset, now you can! Lot’s of good stuff and you can check it out here!

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