Waking up can feel like the worst thing in the world sometimes. You drag yourself from the cosy warmth of your duvet, into the cold day where you now have to start functioning as a human being. Making it an act of self care means to me doing little things that make yourself happy. Even if that is getting out of bed on time and putting on some fancy pants, then that's your self care and you should own it.
On the days where your mornings are a little more relaxed, you can let yourself settle into the day gently, with things to make you feel good.
So the first thing I did was wake up (obviously) but rather than lay around on my phone, or jump straight up out of bed, I opened up Headspace. Headspace is an app you can download that will help you with meditation and mindfulness. It has guided meditations that are easy to follow and relax with, allowing you to choose between 3, 5 and 10 minutes of meditation.
I used to think meditation was one of those things that didn't really work, but learning that it's okay if your mind wanders was one of the most relieving things I could hear. You can't really meditate wrong. I use it to relax really, focusing on my breathing in a way that helps to bring consciousness into waking up. So I lay in my bed for 5 minutes and let Headspace guide me into the day.
Then I actually had to get out of bed.
As all my housemates will know, my bed becomes a dumping ground of clothes throughout the day. So in an effort to combat this, making my bed in the morning puts me in the tidy mindset. Plus, it makes me feel like I'm being productive which is a big act of self care when I then need to move on with the day and get some work done. It also just looks kinda nice.
I then set out my yoga mat and started my day with some serious stretching. My ultimate goal is to be able to do the splits, so using an app like Down Dog is perfect. It guides you through the flow and you can choose your difficulty. As I said, I want to be able to do the splits, so with Down Dog I can add hip openers as an added boost meaning I can get even closer to that goal.
Plus in the morning, there is nothing better than really stretching out alllllll those tight muscles.
Now I'm all relaxed and stretched out, but I still feel a little like an oily toe after all the sleep and yoga. Of course, the only remedy for this is the OG, the most basic b*tch of self love... the face mask. I don't even care about the snarky comments that this will entice, because I feel like I'm pampering myself truly when I pop on a face mask. Using a little bit of Pixi's Glow Mud Mask to help my skin feel all glowy again, I picked up a book, sat back and relaxed until it was time to wash it off.
I then washed my face, popped on some moisturiser and was ready to start the day.
But my uterus had other ideas. Introducing, period cramps once again. I took some painkillers and decided that I could do self care and deal with cramps. I popped the kettle on, whipped out some Pukka Womankind Tea and let the warm herbs placebo my uterus into submission.
I then watered my plants (they need love too) and put on some nice clothes to make me feel truly good. Now, I was ready to face the day and all the work that University was about to throw at me. Even self care cannot stop the unstoppable tide of dissertation writing.
The life of a student eh?
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