Self-care to Nourish the Soul

Refuel the mind, body, and soul

Taking time for self-care should leave us refueled and energized. This is the purpose of self-care in my opinion. There are several types of self-care. I outline many of them in the Career Mom Community, LLC 3-Month Self-Care Planner: A working moms guide to creating effective self-care routines. As we are planning our self-care practices and activities for the month, focusing on self-care that nourishes the soul is a deeply meaningful addition to your routine.

Planning Self-Care for the Week

Self-care should not just be a part of our weekend or Sunday routine. Simple daily acts have the most significant impact on working mothers. When I plan my week I keep this in mind. Carving out time in my busy schedule to refuel and be still helps with productivity and execution.

Nourishing the Soul

The definition of soul in this context according to dictionary.com is, “the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body, and commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part” (Soul Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com). Moreover, I believe our soul is what keeps us connected to something deeper than ourselves.

Think of it this way, self-care that nourishes the soul refuels the innermost parts of our existence. To feed the soul, one must be clear about who they are and what moves them. Self-care that taps into the soul is very individual.

For me, it’s prayer journaling, for some it’s meditation, for others it’s walking along a beautiful nature trail.

Ways to Feed the Soul

Feeding the soul involves meaningful activities that impact our feelings and thoughts. For me, it also involves blocking out excess noise and stimulus. In today’s world, we are faced with several distractions. Giving in to these distractions can limit the effectiveness of self-care practices when we allow such distractions to interrupt the activity.

Here are the ways in which I nourish my soul:

• Quiet Time in my prayer closet
• Reading my bible and journaling
• Walk/runs (check out my Instagram stories for “walk talks” and inspiration)
• Soaking baths with essential oil based products
• Displaying acts of kindness
• Being creative

Displaying acts of kindness will nourish the soul

As Proverbs 11 points out, “those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed”. Showing kindness to others, giving back to our communities, and being a blessing to others leads to blessing. I do believe kindness begets kindness and it motivates us to be kind to ourselves.

The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

Proverbs 11:25 (NLT)

Being creative nourishes the soul

Creative activities and the arts are a great way to refuel the soul. I love to dance and it’s a great way to just let go and be. For me movement, involves the mind, body, and soul. Don’t be afraid to get up and get moving. Getting your kids involved is an excellent way for the entire family to practice self-care.

To Wrap it Up

Self-care should be both impactful and intentional to yield the desired results. I hope today’s post gave you some ideas about ways in which you can nourish your soul each and every day. So, go ahead and grab your Self-care Planner and add these ideas to your plans this week!