A few weeks ago I visited my long-time massage therapist, Annie, to indulge in a little self care. I love going to see Annie, not just for her phenomenal massages, but for our inspiring discussions about all things wellness. If I can manage to stay awake during my massage, Annie and I get into all kinds of topics, from anatomy to the wellness industry to our own self-care. On this particular visit, I set an intention to stay awake to observe the physical sensations I experienced in the massage, and I took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a nice chat.

As per usual, Annie blew my mind with this revolutionary, yet practical, self-care advice:

Set aside an hour every day for yourself. (What?! Who has time for that?!)

Let's be honest.. Setting aside an hour every day may seem like a selfish and unrealistic luxury, right? But think about how busy you are, how stressed you are, and how much of your energy is spent helping others, and you'll start to realize that it's not at all a luxury to spend time on your self care, it's a necessity!

It's crucial to our health, and even our very survival, to invest a little time in our self-care. Just like your car requires regular maintenance, so do you! The difference is you don't have a "check engine" light to let you know when something's going wrong.

If you commit to a small amount of self-maintenance every day, you boost your energy, patience, and immunity, and give yourself a better chance of avoiding bigger systemic breakdowns like accidents, injuries, bad parenting, colds, flus, and even disease.

We all want to be around for a long time, to care for our families, to do our life's work, to travel, and for any number of reasons. Give yourself a head start to a long and healthy life by committing to take care of yourself every single day.

Spend your hour (or half an hour, or if it's a really busy day, maybe just 10 minutes) doing anything that soothes your soul - maybe take a nap, read a book, meditate, paint your nails, or soak in a bubble bath. Do whatever you feel inspired to do, but do SOMETHING care for yourself.

Some days you'll need your self-care just to survive the day, other days your self-care may give you an extra boost that leaves you more rested, more peaceful, more focused, and more kind.

Now, make an action plan! And I love to be inspired by your ideas, so in the Comments below, please let me know...

What form of self-care will you practice today? What about tomorrow? What's your strategy for fitting regular self-care into your schedule?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Health & happiness, Zelinda