Self care, a gift of receiving is more essential than ever.

 

Have you thought about all the ways that you give to others, but rarely embrace receiving?

Christmas during a pandemic. Now that’s more than enough to tax our nervous systems!

The holidays are a wonderful time to catch up with friends and relatives you might not have had the opportunity to see over the course of the year.  This is awesome but it can also be draining.  Especially since most, if not all these catchups are now over video calls.

In a bid to connect with everyone, do everything and get the most out of this special time of year, it’s easy to let ourselves fall by the wayside.  We can feel drained and exhausted and by the time Christmas Day rolls around, we are no longer our best selves!

There are so many benefits of self care, and a little can go a long way during a busy season like the holidays.  By taking the time to check in with yourself and make sure you’re doing okay, you benefit not only yourself, but those around you.

This Christmas make self care a priority.

Here are some self care ideas that may work for you this holiday season:

1. Plan ahead

We all have annual traditions and activities we want to be able to squeeze into the season, but some of these can easily fall by the wayside once our calendars begin to fill up.

Beat the busy-ness at its own game by sitting down BEFORE the peak of the season and making a list of every important event and activity.  Then lock in a date for each item on the list.  These events and activities just became your priority.  Now if anything else comes up (and it will), you can plan around your list of essentials.

2. Eat well and hydrate

If there were ever a time to stuff yourself silly with indulgent food, Christmas is it.  And we’re not saying you should sit down at every meal and have a salad when you really would like something else.

Enjoy the dinners and cookie swaps guilt-free, but in between those events, keep things light and healthy.  Obviously too much indulgent food can cause us to gain kilos quickly, but it also affects our energy levels and mood and can cause fatigue.  Go easy on the alcohol and make sure you have plenty of water.

Take care of your body!  If energy levels are still waning even after mindful and healthy eating, try an energy booster!  We have a wonderful Energize Tincture and Edibles to give you an added “boost” and to help clear mind fog.

https://blissforia.ca/collections/boost-edibles

3. Set aside intentional down-time

Plan time for a hobby, reading, a leisurely walk, a good old Netflix session and a relaxing bath (most definitely a bath)!  We have an amazing collection of soothing bath bombs!  Try our new Winter Bliss Bath Bomb. It adds both colour and essential oils to your bath along with the healing properties of CBD!

https://blissforia.ca/collections/calyx/products/winter-bliss-bath-bloom

We also have intimate, rejuvenating and relaxing bath bombs which you will find right here:

https://blissforia.ca/collections/pleasure

Set a solid intention to slow down and take it easy at home every week and the more often you do it, the better you’ll feel for it.

Don’t get to every Sunday night wishing that you had a whole other weekend to recover from the weekend you’ve just had.  Be smart, listen to your body, and give yourself the gift of regular quiet time.

4. Outsource

If you’re going to be doing a lot of entertaining over the Christmas period, that means a lot of cooking.  There is no shame in ordering in.  Likewise, you don’t need to cook everything from scratch all by yourself.  Check out some local artisan foodie businesses.  Nobody will think less of you, and the relief of a lightened load will be tangible.  Plus, we are all about supporting local!

5. Get a good night’s sleep.

When we don’t get enough sleep, our health and well-being is affected.  We are less productive, we have less energy and it weakens our immune system.  The best product to help with sleep is our Relax Tincture:

https://blissforia.ca/collections/mind-body-wellness/products/blends%E2%84%A2-relax

Taking this tincture regularly by micro dosing will get you back to sleeping soundly in no time!

To learn more about micro dosing: https://blissforia.ca/pages/cbd-dosing

5. Embrace a morning routine

In busy seasons of life, we often spend our days in a reactionary state; reacting to our plans, slaves to our calendars.  By implementing an intentional morning routine each day, we start the day in control and separated from everything else we have planned for the day.

It doesn’t have to be an hour-long routine.  Just something to wake you up, refresh you, and buy you some mental space before having to kick into gear.  A few of our personal favorites: yoga, meditation, dancing to your favorite tunes (try naked!), pampering with amazing body products.  Try our delicious Pink Watermelon Soap Scrub followed by Orange Dreamsicle Body Butter. It is a fantastic way to start your day!

https://blissforia.ca/collections/delush

6. Stop Scrolling

Now is a great time to slow down on your social media intake in the name of smart self care.  There’s enough to fill up your brain at this time of year without the cultural cross section of useless information begging for your attention on your social media apps.

Plus, if you’re prone to feelings of jealousy, your Facebook feed could be a serious downer at this time of year.  It’s easy to forget that nobody’s lives are picture perfect when their Instagram accounts sure are.

The less time you spend scrolling this Christmas, the happier you’ll be.

7. Get outdoors

Fresh air is soothing for the mind, body and soul and energy received from trees and plants can uplift us!

8. Spend your time intentionally

What if we told you, you don’t have to attend every Christmas Zoom event?  Sometimes we feel obliged to attend events or undertake activities “because it’s family” or “because it’s tradition”, and while we are not nay-saying the utter importance of family and tradition, we do believe that upholding such commitments for those reasons does more harm than good to ourselves and our relationships.

Instead of relying on your cousin’s Zoom party to passively catch up with relatives who are important to you, for example, make an intentional plan to properly connect with them.  A personal card, a long phone call, or a one-on-one visit when it’s safe to travel means so much more than a token “so, how has this year been for you?” conversation over Christmas music blasting in the background.

At the end of the day, Christmas should be a wonderful time of year.
Don’t get so caught up in the craziness of it all that you leave yourself and your needs as a last priority. You’ll have a happier, more fulfilling holiday season if you implement a little self care here and there, and you’ll be able to give of yourself more too… so it’s win-win!

To learn more about how we can give ourselves the gifts of receiving by incorporating our Love Languages, join us for an upcoming workshop:

December 8: 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm PST: https://bit.ly/3qD5z9e
December 15: 6:00 pm -7:00 pm, PST: https://bit.ly/3mV3wuL
December 21: 12:00 pm- 1:00 pm, PST: https://bit.ly/2LfQlqu

Also in Blog