5 Ways to Spoil and Nurture Yourself Without Spending Money.
Finding time for ourselves doesn’t have to cost us at all.
But yet, a lot of us think of getting a pedicure, going out for dinner and retail therapy as a means to spoil ourselves or treat ourselves.
Those can be nice and all, but they are just “things” and can be expensive at that. Most of us stress about money and are living beyond our means or paycheck to paycheck.
So finding ways to calm your thoughts, reclaim your dream goals, feed your soul, find clarity and get some old fashioned rest can be the best ways to show up for yourself and cultivate inner vitality.
- Spend time alone; on your deck, your favorite rock, park bench, take a walk, go on a hike, take a bath, lock yourself in your room… you name it… spend some time with you, yourself and your thoughts. Take a break from Instagram and other forms of media to just sit, close your eyes and breathe. If you are outside, take in the beauty, even an Urban environment comes alive when you just sit and be with what is.Calm your thoughts!
- Reclaim your dream goals; many of us have them and you will never know if your dreams have a chance at becoming reality if you ignore them and don’t revisit them often. Journal, write them down, and remember to revisit them. As you do, make sure to list out your mile stones and as you accomplish them, mark them as DONE! There is no greater feeling than accomplishing something!Watch your dreams come true!
- Meditate; I will be the first to admit when I started yoga I resonated with the physical and when the suggestion to meditate approached me I would just put my hand out like “Stop, right there, I do not know how to meditate, nor do I have the patience for that shit!”. Now I get excited about sitting down to do it! I have learned it can be easy, it can be what ever you want it to be and there doesn’t have to be any rules! At first I set a timer, and told myself at least 3 minutes, I’d close my eyes and swear the timer went off immediately! “What? How was that 3 minutes, I must have set my timer wrong!” Nope, it is just that easy, 3 minutes with your eyes closed and breathing will fly by before you know it. So, now I set a stop watch, you know, start at zero and just let it count up until I feel like I am done meditating and ready to move on and when I open my eyes to look at the stop watch, to my surprise, sometimes it reads 30 minutes! A-MAZ-ING! It felt like 5! So obviously I only do this when I know I don’t have to be anywhere, otherwise I set a timer to go off around 10 minutes when I am busy.Either way… just try it! Don’t over think it! It feeds the soul!
- Find clarity through cleaning; clean your house, your kitchen, your desk, closet, you name it, clean it. Whoa… wait a darn minute here… I thought we were talking about spoiling and nurturing ourselves! And we are, cleaning is a luxury, truly it is! It means you have a home or job and you should value it as a luxury and as you take care of it, you are taking care of yourself. In many parts in the world or in history people have had to go without. Scary, right, so YES, it is a luxury! It is ridiculous that we put off cleaning, because we know we feel better after we do! Plus, having the constant thoughts of “Damn, I have to clean my house” is a waste of good brain cells! It clutters up your mind, your thoughts and your house when you keep putting it off! So just do it. Seriously, you will even feel like you can think more clearly if you remove the clutter around you.Clutter is toxic. Clarity is a blessing!
- Go to bed at a decent time; Getting good old fashioned sleep and rest is the best self love we can give ourselves. Have trouble sleeping? Then make sure you start to put away the electronics 2 hours before bed. Even keep your bedroom free of electronics. Eat a good meal no later than 2 hours before bed and then no snacks before bed. Drink some chamomile tea. Do some Yin Yoga before bed. Take a bath. And in many holistic methods you should be in bed before 10:00pm so you can fall asleep by 10:00pm. It is said that your body finds a second wind of energy after 10:00pm that will keep many people awake for hours! So lights out before 10:00pm.
Intrigued with the meditation part, you want to try it, but you just know you are the type that needs some guidance? That is OK… once you know yourself well… then it is less stressful to acknowledge it and find help. Here are some ways I can help you out:
- In my online store on my website I have a pre-recorded, ready for you right now, 15 minute breathing exercise that is a guided meditation for listening to and downloading. For reading this get the download for free, use the code: free15
- I offer private sessions for meditation. A consultation to narrow down whats on your mind these days and then I record a customized guided meditation for you and your specific needs. The recording is yours to re-listen to as often as you need or want. I offer free 30 minute phone calls to discuss if this is a fit for you and explain how it works, to get a consultation and custom recording a full 60 minute session must be booked.
- On my YouTube channel I have some Yin Yoga you can do at home in the evening or anytime needed.
Most of all… resist spending money to sooth yourself and destress! Often the act of spending money creates more stress!
Love and Namaste’
