Self-care techniques play a vital role in how you manage stress: it can help you feel confident, help release body tension, and give you the mental downtime you need to tackle what’s next on your list.

Self-care tools are the things that you have ready in your back pocket that you know will help you when tough situations arise. Ideally, they are in practice and used continuously so that you don’t dip into overwhelm, stress and anxiety. But you can always create these now! I want to share some of my own self-care tools that help in my day-to-day. I’d love to hear what your self-care tools are!

Below are my 10 self-care tools and how they help me!

10. Tea time. I love drinking tea from my early waking hours to the end of my day. I wake and take my lemon water before anything but the ritual of making my tea is how my day really starts. I love the smell of bergamot and always take a few extra smells of my tea as I scoop fresh earl grey tea into my tea strainer or tea bag, add hot water, add my one teaspoon of honey and then unsweetened coconut milk. I make my tea strong just like I did growing up in Canada. I take a seat for about 15-20 minutes and set up my day by reflecting on it. At the end of my day, I make fennel seed tea (good for digestion), fresh organic ginger tea with honey or a Yogi Tea variation (usually the detox tea!) Again, this becomes a time to reflect on the day for a few mimnutes.

I feel that this self-care tool helps me feel in control of my day.

9. Meditation. I wish I could say that I wake and meditate but I don’t (often at least!). I do, however, meditate around lunch and it’s usually after my yoga practice. I use my phone alarm to keep count of time and do between 5-10 minutes of quiet seated meditation. I always feel good afterward. Never a wasted minute.

I feel this enhances my working memory because meditation redirects attention.

8. Baths. Once a week I take a bath to help relieve back and body aches from an active and moving lifestyle. I’ve always enjoyed them. Soaking in a hot bath soothes aches and pains but it also makes me feel like I’m really taking care of myself. They are precious moments of peace in an otherwise busy day.

This definitely increases relaxation for me all around because in a bath you are forced to move slowly, breath deeper and spend time cleaning your body.

7. Talking on the phone or meeting with friends. Spending time with people who genuinely make you smile and laugh is awesome. There is nothing more sweet than sharing time with people that you have a mutual love for.

Being with a friend definitely boosts your mood and makes you more confident because when you’re with your friends, they remind you of how special you are.

6. Nourishing foods. Creating nourishing foods is just as important as eating the nourishing foods. I also struggle with making the time to create foods on the daily so I do a small batch at the weekend and let myself eat that until it runs out. For example, I use my crock pot for some instant meals or I make a batch of quinoa and oftentimes green lentils and throw either or both of those on my salad or re-heat and add veggies. I make my own granola, protein balls and my own trail mix that I can carry with me throughout my day. Every day I make either a green juice or a green smoothie. For me, self-care means total self-care including good foods and this is one of the best ways for me to do just that: making my own nourishing foods at home.

I feel like this helps me better manage stress because creating food is calming and it feels so good to eat food you prepared.

5. Journaling. Again, I’m not as consistent as I used to be but journalling has served me over the years. Clarity, clarity, clarity when I write. Writing things out helps me to get out the things that stress me out, helps me to make things more bite-sized, and gives me the confidence to do my work.

I have never yet had high blood pressure but I can see how this would lower anyone’s blood pressure.

4. Longer walks. An old favorite but always took a backseat to running. So when I had to stop long distance running a couple of years ago because of an injury, walking was my go-to. As much as I can, I schedule clients to include me either walking to them or walking to my yoga studio classes. Getting in my minimum 10,000 steps reminds my legs and body the important of truly shaking your bones to stay alive.

This helps me to build my bone strength by hitting the pavement. {I take occasional short runs but more fair-weather!}

3. Reading. I wouldn't be here living in the states or have travelled as much as I have if it weren’t for reading. Reading is like breathing for me and I guess you could say that when I felt the most choked in my life, I wasn’t reading. Reading was and is a true life raft. Learning is vital for progression and to move forward. You will stay stuck where you are now if you don’t do the work (reading) to enhance your own life. Reading lets you see beyond where you are. It gives you an amazing glimpse to the world you have yet to know and the taste to make you want to go there.

I feel that this helps me with my overall brain health. Using my brain to focus on one thing for an hour or two is so good. It has the same effect as meditation where it can improve brain functioning.

2. Yoga. Without realizing it at the time, yoga gave me the break I needed in all aspects of my life. I was able to spend time with myself by getting sweaty moving my body (and releasing the back tension I so badly wanted gone), time away from life demands and the most important benefit was how it positively affected my depression. It basically lifted it.

This gives me that blissful feeling post-practice (boosts mood and confidence). But it also effects blood pressure, memory, helps to manage stress, reduces inflammation, boost immunity and so much more. TRY IT!

1. Sleeping. I can’t do anything without it no matter how much I might have said I didn’t need it in my long ago youthful past. I DO! I work hard to get my 7-8 hours a night and sometimes more if it’s been a busy and demanding day and I have the ability to rest more. I do feel it when I don’t get this amount of rest as it shaves off from my mood and my ability to be alert.

I feel this also helps me with my memory, creativity, my ability to make decisions, weight loss, clear skin, satiated appetite, strong immunity and more!

I have to say that yoga and sleep were almost tied to the number 1 position but because I need to sleep to do yoga, sleep was first!

You don’t need to do all of these above but these are up there for vitality when it comes to health and wellness.

Write down your top 10 self-care tools and write some down that you don’t do often but want to do more of. The act of writing things down is huge!!! You LITERALLY write these things into your existence!!

My 10 Self-Care Tools!

-Jess