Self-care on the Sunshine Coast
Self-Care is something that we are certainly all hearing a lot more people talk about these days. I was reflecting the other day that I am not sure how or when this phrase came about and when I think back to when my parents were my age, I am not sure it was even a thing. What I do clearly remember though about that era is that none of the adults in my life seemed to be as strung out, overworked, overcommitted as the majority of people seem to be these days. So perhaps the self-care strategy was born out of necessity to our current lifestyles.
So first of all, I want to break this down because I think we all see the self-care term as something different. But at the core, I believe it is a method of being able to prioritise doing things in your life that you enjoy and that bring you joy. This of course will have flow on effects for your mood, how you view the world on a daily basis, your stress and anxiety levels and how you interact with those around you. This could be your family, work colleagues or even just those you encounter on a casual basis at the shops or out and about. Just like the way our physical bodies are all different, so too will be our preferences for “filling our cup” so to speak.
During sessions with my clients naturally what they do with their lives and how they spend their time comes up. I like to know and understand what some contributing factors to their issue or pain might be. This is so that if I can see a connection that they can’t I can gently help to point them in a direction of activities or tweaks to what they are already doing that might have a positive flow on effect towards their symptom improvement.
What has become apparent of late as I chat to clients is that some people are just so busy that they don’t have time or make time for things they enjoy, or they don’t even remember what it is they do enjoy doing!! My biggest tip if you are reading this and think that you are the latter, is simply think back to when you were between 5 and 10 years of age and remember what you used to love doing before the responsibilities of adulting got in the way. I am fairly certain if you just give yourself permission even, if you think some of them are silly, that you will still enjoy them now. With that in mind, here are my Top 5 things I love to do on the Sunshine Coast!
1. Rollerblading! I love hitting the Roller drome in Caloundra with the kiddies and getting my skate on. I spent loads of time skating as a kid. I love the movement combined with the loud music. Also, there is something about skating that gives you a sense of accomplishment combined with a sense of freedom.
2. Dancing. Every Wed night I attend an adults Hip Hop class in Landsborough. I love my loud music and activities that help me to feel into my body. I particularly love Hip Hip as the movements are very grounding. Lots of bending at the knees, wide stance within the feet and more often than not the movements are choreographed to hit with the accents within the beat of the track.
3. The beach. Well, the beach is a given for a large number of people. The combination of the hits for the senses does it for me. I love using the wet sand to do a mini scrub on my arms and legs, the feeling of the warm rays of the sun hitting your skin and the overload of relaxation for the eyes and brain. The ebb and flow of the waves or the intricacies and detail you can find in just one shell.
4. The Glasshouse Mountains. Mt Ngungun is an awesome climb with great views, and 5 mins from my house. It is challenging on the way up unless you are super fit, but the way down is super easy. If you are after something less strenuous or less crowded, I love the Mt Tibrogargen base walk. This walk leaves me feeling like I have been given a supermassive hug by a million trees. For the most part, it is quite shaded and bearable even on those hot days. It even has a few seats along the way if you want to stop and contemplate.
5. Getting a body treatment. I have a few different practitioners I see for my own bodywork, and I enjoy receiving Bowen Therapy, Reiki, and Lymphatic Drainage massage on a regular basis. I also perform Reiki Self-Treatments on myself, which I find quite similar to the feeling you get after a great meditation session.
So, as you can see most of my Self-care activities involve me giving myself the joy and gift of being in my body, feeling, listening, and enjoying the sounds around me and the understanding of how my body enjoys purposeful movement. Because of how I enjoy spending my time it probably explains why I enjoy my job so much. I really enjoy when returning clients express how they have been able to tune into their body more and decode the messages and hints the body is trying to communicate through all the noise of everyday life. You are your best body decoder, as you are with you 24 hours a day, 7 days week and I only can pick up on what I can see or feel on the day of treatment.
I hope this article inspires you to reconnect to your self-care practices or if you have a robust set of practices already perhaps you can have a look at them collectively and see if you notice a theme to yours. Remember, most self-care activities don’t cost any money at all!