This month at Healthoholics, we’re talking ALL things self-nurturing.

Which I was pretty jazzed about, because I literally centred my entire 2017 year around the word, ‘nurture’, so I knew I could offer heaps of self-nurturing suggestions. I tried just about everything on this list in 2017 alone, and I can honestly say that I feel like a completely different person since I’ve made self-nurturing a regular, consistent practice.

My hope is that by reading this, you gain some inspiration to start choosing YOU more often.

Because when we practice regular self-nurturing, we not only gain a strong sense of self-esteem, and feel better about ourselves, but, we also hold space for others to do the same!

I also think it’s important to mention that we shouldn’t rely solely on others for the nurturing we’d like to receive.We need to take responsibility for ourselves, and how WE want to feel.

This list may sound simple, but self-nurturing doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, the simpler the better! By practising at least one or two of these activities every day, you’ll learn that it’s okay to be kind to yourself.

You DESERVE this level of support and to be nurtured.

So if you’re not in the habit of nurturing yourself regularly, and you’ve been finding it difficult to get started, here are 50 ways to boost your self-nurturing practice. Because you’re freakin’ worth it!

Happy Nurturing!

50 Ways to Boost your Self-Nurturing Practice:

1. Date yourself! Do things solo. Go see your favourite movie, visit your favourite restaurant, go shopping, read in a park, or do something you’ve always wanted to try.
2. Practice EFT Tapping to receive physical + emotional relief
3. Go out for brunch with your best girlfriends
4. Try out a new yoga studio
5. Take a sacred bubble bath. Stock up on delicious smelling bath bombs, light some candles or diffuse essential oils, and read a good book while you soak. You could even add in a rubber ducky for some fun!
6. Find a counsellor or therapist that just ‘gets you’, and explore your feelings with them
7. Hug and spend quality time with a cute cuddly animal friend
8. Count all the ways that your body already naturally supports you
9. Actually take your lunch break– leave the building and get outside if you can
10. Keep a happy journal where you record all your happy memories/ moments
11. Call and chat with your mom or a best friend
12. Disconnect to reconnect. Turn off your phone, laptop, and other electronics for an entire day.
13. Sit by a salt lamp, mood, or happy lamp and absorb it’s feel-good energy.
14. Try mindful colouring
15. Treat yourself to a midday cat nap… just because!
16. Book a massage or practice self-massage
17. Create a self-love playlist on spotify, and dance your heart out
18. Try a new healthy, nutritious recipe that you’ve always wanted to try
19. Explore a new place and be present while you’re there
20. Crowd out caffeine and refined sugars with healthy nutritious food choices
21. Book a spa day, even if it’s just something small like a mani
22. Change up your hair-do to something that suits your current personality or mindset
23. Start a new meditation or breathing practice
24. Make time to get outside and spend time in nature, it could be your backyard, a hiking trail, the beach, or a park. Just connect with nature in some way.
25. Declutter your home or workspace, and instead only keep items that bring you joy
26. Make self-touch a priority. Cover yourself in lotion or essential oils daily.
27. Book a weekend getaway, new surroundings can re-inspire and help you to reconnect to yourself!
28. Say no to things that don’t feel good to you, that includes feeling guilty for saying no!
29. Speak kindly to yourself. Look in the mirror and say out loud 5 things you love about yourself.
30. Drink more water. Buy a cute, fun new water bottle that you’re gravitated towards and that you’ll enjoy drinking out of.
31. Prioritize getting in 7-8 hours of sleep a night
32. Create just for fun; write, paint, play an instrument, craft, colour, whatever feels good for you.
33. Create a new morning ritual, try out new ideas and see what feels good to you then create a consistent routine.
34. Leave jobs, people, situations or relationships that are no longer serving you
35. Give yourself a facial
36. Go through your wardrobe and get rid of any clothes that are worn out, tattered, no longer fit or don’t flatter you. Reorganize the items you decided to keep.
37. Surround yourself with aromatherapy. Candles, sage, incense, essential oils… stock up on your favourites!
38. Go to the park and swing on the swings
39. Delete people on social media that are no longer serving you
40. Stop holding your bladder. When it’s time to go, GO!
41. Allow yourself to remove energetically draining or negative people from your life
42. Dance in your underwear to your favourite song… because if that’s not freedom I don’t know what is!
43. Sit and soak up the sun, and see how your body feels. We could all use some extra vitamin D.
44. Check in with yourself often. Ask yourself, ‘what do I need right now?’ and then DO that thing!
45. Read or watch something that makes you laugh.
46. Write yourself a love letter
47. Plant flowers, plants or vegetables
48. Give yourself space to feel what you want to feel. Your feelings are valid, and it’s safe for you to express yourself.
49. Sip on some tea and watch a sunrise in silence
50. Listen to your intuition. Your gut is always right.

Now, if self-nurturing is new to you, or you’ve been experiencing feelings of low self-esteem then you might notice that feelings of guilt might pop-up when you begin to set aside the time or money to implement these activities.

But I challenge you to just allow yourself to go there. And go there regularly! Like a muscle, self-nurturing will get easier the more you stretch yourself. So just give it a try, and see where it takes you!

What would you add to this list? How do you make self-nurturing apart of your daily practice.