If basics of self-care had been taught in school, as part of something important for you to know, where would your health, emotional resilience and wellbeing be today? Self care as a ritual and routine is a basic preparation for life as an independent, healthy, and self-aware adult. Taking care of wellness is a valuable habit to cultivate early.
Can self-care be turned into a healthy habit? Yes it can. Let me show you how.
The basics for wellness I value include nutritional understanding for energy and health, physical activities for strength and co-ordination, social engagement for connectedness and communication, stress reduction strategies for tough times, learning enhancement techniques for every day, insight on personality styles and preferences for communication, and the concept of balance self to self, self to others and others to self. These are some of the basics for preparing to be respectful of self and others and be self sustaining and productive in personal and community life.
One of the pressing issues of our times is the major increase of unwell people in our “advanced” nations and the drain that is on each unwell person and on their family and carers. And I’m not talking about just the elderly. From babies to toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults, to middle age and mature age, all are exhibiting increased rates of health problems from obesity, to food allergies, to learning difficulties, to depression, to common multiple degenerative diseases. And it’s not simply genetics to blame for this.
Epigenetics – We now know we have power over our genes so we are not stuck with what we inherit. Science is showing how we ourselves are each influencing which genetic programs and predispositions in our inherited blueprint we turn on or turn off. That’s wonderful. It means we can determine which weakness we trigger and undermine and which strengths we reinforce. You just need awareness, knowledge and willingness to action what we learn to create long term good health.
How do you exert your influence on your genes?
You switch genes on and off according to the internal environment you create within each cell, tissue, organ, structure and function in our body.
And how do you create that internal environment?
Daily, hourly, minute-by-minute, you change your biochemistry and internal cellular environment by:
– what you think, be it positive or negative
– by what you feel, uplifting or depressing
– by what you eat and drink, nourishing or depleting
– by what you do physically, enhance flexibility and strength or let them fade
– by the company you keep and the role models and support system around you.
So it’s time to change what you can, learn to listen to your body, fuel it well, enhance its physical capacity, connect with others for mutual support and spiritual uplift, to engage your essential nature and true potential. In other words, be holistic in your self-care.
New Era in Health Care – We have begun a new era of integrative medicine, where you don’t have to give up the advances of biomedicine to benefit from natural medicine and health enhancing strategies. Its not either or, but both, to gain the best of all that is available to us today.
Conventional medicine has focused on drugs and surgery, both of which in life threatening emergencies bring people through the crisis. But that seems to account for about 15% of what our medical system attends to. Once through the crisis, what comes next? Rebuilding health is not just getting going again, but getting healthy so you are not susceptible to further breakdown. Scientific researchers estimate that 85% of what ails people is created by stress of one kind or another, and drugs and surgery are not the solution for that.
Holistic medicine, holistic healing, holistic therapies honour the whole human being, the physical, biochemical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, the interconnected whole being.
To consciously explore and learn strategies, progressively at each stage of our lives, for each of these areas, will take us a long way to a lifetime of wellness. Our body and brain are actually built for it. This learning goes way beyond academic ability that is the focus of our schooling at present as preparation for adult life. This is about basic holistic self-care and interaction with those in our environment throughout our lifetime.
Science based medicine has been in conflict with “soul medicine” and our makeup beyond the physical body, the things in life that touch our heart and soul and how they influence our wellness. Now science is gradually revealing principles and mechanisms behind the successes in natural therapies and spiritual healing, and in turn, natural therapies and soul medicine are increasingly turning to science to identify the most reliable and consistent methods for healing to occur. Energy healers have even been included during heart transplant surgery to give the best start for the patient post operatively. That’s amazing!
We Are Naturally Programmed To Heal – We are each set up for self-healing and repair of wear and tear. The trick is to create the right internal environment for the healing to happen.
As humans we respond to the rhythm of day and night, to daily rituals and routines that match energy shifts during the day. Babies respond to comforting rituals and thrive best when they eat, play, rest and sleep in a rhythm, a pattern. Mothers soon discover the rhythm best suited to their baby and can work with their baby’s energy shifts so their baby doesn’t become over tired or over hungry and fretful.
Adults too respond to rhythm, patterns and routines that add structure, sanity and simplicity to our chaotic lives and avoid being over tired or over hungry and fretful (read stressed). Familiarity doesn’t necessarily breed contempt, but can bring a reassuring, calming and warm sense of security, that can buffer stress.
Some of the simple everyday things we do, like taking a shower, getting dressed for the day, making the bed, preparing breakfast and eating, to begin our day, is a routine, and when done mindfully, with respect for our body, is a sacred ritual.
Following a familiar rhythm is energy saving, and frees your mind of the need for decision making. This allows you to take care of your body, stay in receptive alpha brain rhythms, let your creativity roam, and gradually move into beta brain rhythm for active mode by the time you leave for work.
Now that can work if you are on your own or in an established and steady relationship. Children add a totally different dimension to the mix, yet having a morning ritual with children too can be a stress saver. As part of bed-time stories you can gently and playfully talk through the morning ritual with your child, getting them to identify the steps in order, so they are prepared in advance, build expectations, and learn to say hello to the day in a positive way. This ritual can help them and you to avoid a chaotic start to the day, especially if there are time schedules to be met.
For balance we also need unstructured time, when we can pursue our whim, dither about, just enjoy what is, without needing to achieve anything in particular, to discover what pleases and entertains us, to spend joyful exchange with friends and family. Either all structured time and motion, or all unstructured will generate their own problems.
Creating rhythms and routines is about establishing self discipline to gain the best of your day, to have a time for doing what is required, achieving what is planned, as well as taking a breather and reconnecting with self outside of what we do. It is all too easy to get lost in our roles and tasks and lose track of the inner self. Daily “self” time helps to identify and align your inner and outer worlds, what you want to experience and express of who you are and your values from your inner world with your activity in the outer world.
Self-care as rituals and routines can honour you as a whole human being and ensure you create balance in your life. Take the opportunity to learn the skills and build knowledge in each area, physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual, so you can switch on your genetic programs that support wellness.
Sign up for Touch For Health workshop on 19 & 20 February and you’ll be surprised how much you can learn in a weekend that gives you power over your genes and your wellbeing, that gives simple, easy self care rituals and routines . email me: anna@annamcrobert.com
Cheers
Anna