Founder, Andrea Dershin's, Guide to Self Care
FROM MINDFULNESS TO FACE MASKS
Here’s my Guide to Self Care!
There are a lot of ways I love to show me the love. I like to layer it on thick, and I like to layer it on often. Self care rituals are an opportunity to take care of yourself and remind yourself you’re worthy of pampering. Rituals like healthy meals and face masks are opportunities to remind yourself you are worthy of showing up for yourself. And when you feel worthy, it inspires you to take better care of yourself.
There are so many different tools for self care and I don’t discount any of them. When something makes you feel good, feel nurtured, feel beautiful . . it’s worth it. Because you are worthy.
However, the fluffy stuff as I like to call it - the bubble baths and the face masks, albeit tools I love to use, aren’t quite enough to truly care for myself on the deeper level I desire.
A commitment to taking a well-rounded approach to self-care is what leads to feeling truly nourished.
Self care needs to be approached from all the areas of our health
Physical / Spiritual / Mental / Emotional
So here’s my top 5 ways I practice taking care of myself. From Mindfulness to Face Masks
1. Plant Inspired Diet
Let Food be thy Mental + Physical Medicine
My desire to found Good Life Juice was deeply rooted in my desire to help others experience how GOOD you can FEEL when you fuel your body with plant based, whole foods. So it makes sense this is my Number 1!
This is where self care started for me years ago.
It’s where it re-starts every day, when I make food choices that nourish my body, reduce inflammation, balance my hormones and give me energy to feel high on life!
Our tag line is the “gateway to higher living” and it stems from a belief that when you experience the transformative results of plant inspired living, you start living at a higher frequency and a higher state of being.
Choosing foods that are nutrient dense, varied in colour and plant based are essential to a calm, fit, healthy body.
I choose to eat a clean, wholesome, plant based diet because it’s proven to help me FEEL my best and LOOK my best. Plants are just that powerful! And they really do have the power to make you happy too! 90% of serotonin (happiness hormone) is made in the gut. If you want to feed your brain joy-food, then feed your gut heathy foods. Another powerful part of plants?! ENZYMES. Enzymes are only found in raw plant foods (you lose them if foods are cooked or pasteurized). They are referred to as the life-force of plants and when you consume them, you consume their life force . . . so it makes sense they are gong to help you feel more energized and alive. Add in the plethora of other benefits of eating a plant-inspired diet and it becomes the ultimate way to take care of your self.
It’s good to feel good. And eating good is a great way to get there!
2. Mindful Self Compassion
Mental + Emotional Soul Food
Learning about mindful self compassion has been a game changer. A few years ago I was researching what type of therapist might be a good fit for me and my friend (who is studying to be a counsellor) suggested I find someone who practices CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). I am so grateful for that suggestion as I found a fabulous therapist and was introduced to this amazing approach! After a few months of seeing her, I took an 8 week course offered through The Centre for Compassion Inspired Health called Mindful Self Compassion. I dove in deep with the practices! It has taught me so much about self care because I learned how to truly nourish myself..
For many years I was craving being nurtured. I had this internal dialogue, feeling as if I was not being nurtured enough, but I continued to blame outside sources. I had never even considered that it had to start with my thoughts, and how I respond internally to those thoughts.
The training helped me recognize my emotions for what they were. Human Emotions. That’s it! No judgment required. No immediate need to FIX EVERYTHING!
Just notice the thought, forgive the thought, give myself some self love (with talk or soothing touch) and maybe ask for guidance to help move towards more loving thoughts. Once I started learning more and more tools that really worked and learning how to lay it on thick and lay it on often, things started to dramatically shift.
Self Care starts with Taking Care of your Thoughts
I realized that it is totally human to experience all sorts of emotions, all of the time. I don’t need to judge or justify them. I can just have them. And I can also learn to take care of myself when those thoughts and feelings are hard, stress inducing, sad, challenging etc. Sometimes it’s a few deep breaths, a hand over my heart or giving my shoulder a soothing rub and telling myself it’s ok.
Being Mindful of how you are feeling, and then showing yourself compassion for whatever those feelings may be, can lead to caring for yourself deeper than you ever knew you could!
3. Connecting to a Greater Force
Practices to Align yourself with Love
I consider myself a very spiritual person . . . and when I am feeling joy is when I feel most connected. Thus, when I am feeling connected, I typically experience more joy. How I get connected changes day to day, but implementing habits and practices daily are key to helping me feel it more often and more deeply.
Morning rituals work best for me. I like to wake up early to allow 30-45 minutes of quiet time before my family gets up. I typically brew some coffee, then sit on the couch and meditate. Follow that up with reading a few affirmations, a good book, gratitude lists, journaling . . . whatever! It changes all the time and I just let my needs and feelings that morning, guide me. Sometimes I just read a good book that has nothing to do with spiritually, mindfulness or any of that woo-woo stuff!
Part of the fun is that it’s an evolution, so I try to be open and leave room for joy, mistakes and taking a break.
When it comes to connecting to love, self care is making the daily choice (at least on most days) to ALIGN my thoughts, feelings and actions in a way that is gentle, nourishing, positive, loving and kind.
4. Get Moving
Exercising to FEEL Good + Look Good
Science has proven it, and most of us all know it to be true. Exercise is incredible for boosting your mood and improving your physical health.
Physically, regular exercise can reduce your risk of illness and disease, help you manage your weight, have stronger bones, muscles and joints, increase your energy and improve your sleep. Mentally, exercise can help distract you from daily worries, reduce stress, increase your social contact with others and improve your mood by changing the chemicals in your brain such as serotonin, endorphins and adrenaline. Lets not forget looking and feeling sexy AF!
This summer I shifted my mind set around exercise to being the number one thing I can do for my mental health.
With a schedule that is always brimming with things to do, it would be easy for me to justify I don’t have time to exercise. However, mentally I know that exercise is HUGE for my mental health. So although there are a plethora of physical benefits to exercise, for me, the positive inner dialogue that results from it, is what fuels me to prioritize exercise every day.
5. THE FLUFFY STUFF
Face Masks Should not be Under-rated!
There’s a reason so many of us think of face masks when we think of self care . . . cause taking care of your skin and improving your appearance is legit taking care of yourself!!
Face masks are an opportunity for soothing self touch and a reminder you are worthy of pampering. Plus, when you cant stop looking at your gorgeous glow in the mirror and touching your soft skin, the loving thoughts continue.
Check out our DIY Rejuvenating Face Mask Recipe + discover your most gorgeous GLO yet!
The self-care trifecta of doing a face mask, while in the bath, and reading a book that brings me joy, is literally one of my favourite things in this entire world. Those 20 minutes can really get the job done.
Here’s to you - Loving yourself, and caring for yourself like never before.
XO, Founder Andrea Dershin
